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You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” 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 walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her youth, already beginning performing in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

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