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You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.

She shoots 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 respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

Cornish was planning an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “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, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ 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, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees