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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! 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 flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees