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You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘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.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ 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 dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees