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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The musician, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the audience.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful 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 scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her youth, already beginning featuring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has joined the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees