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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought 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 found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees