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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “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.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”

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