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You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous 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 recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, 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 reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically 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

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees