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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

We’re at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the fans.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group the group while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees