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You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

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