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You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. 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. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Hey, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees