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You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.

“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was selected 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 dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

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