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You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the audience.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

The artist was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great 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 considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees