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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was meant as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. 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 thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”

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