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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers 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 partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the audience.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was planning an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, 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 flawless. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees