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You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her youth, already beginning featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep 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 the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees