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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees