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You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was planning an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, 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 perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

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. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees