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You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the audience.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees