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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees