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You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was planning an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

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. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees