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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. 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 considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while studying at 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 larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

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