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You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.

The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”

Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees