\n Joanne Morrison, from Brighton, died on Friday, March 13 in Suffolk having been diagnosed with two brain tumours in August 2025.\n<\/p>\n
\n Joanne, better known as Jo, had already survived cancer twice in her life before her third diagnosis.\n<\/p>\n
\n At 26, she was diagnosed with advanced aggressive cervical cancer and made a full recovery. At the time she was a physical instructor in the Women\u2019s Royal Army Corps.\n<\/p>\n
\n She was then diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 43.\n<\/p>\n
\n Emergency brain surgery caused her to suffer from epilepsy as well as severely impacting her left-sided mobility and balance.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ordeal was a major setback for Jo, and it took her two years to learn to walk without the help of sticks.\n<\/p>\n
\n \n After recovering, Jo moved to Brighton and became a health\u00a0coach, supporting people going through significant changes to maintain a healthy lifestyle.\n<\/p>\n \n Through this work, Jo took up bodybuilding and competed in and won a number of competitions.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cShe had never done anything like that before, but when she decided to do something she was the most determined woman,\u201d said close friend Janet O\u2019Byrne.\n<\/p>\n \n Janet met Jo 12 years ago at the Pride parade in Brighton after being introduced through a mutual friend.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe got on like a house on fire,\u201d Janet said. \u201cI have two brain aneurysms, so I always said we were brainy friends.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe were both out of relationships so saw a lot of one another \u2013 partying, Sunday lunches and going to Hickstead.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n \n Alongside her work as a coach, Jo also wrote a book about her health journey, Finding the Other Me, and undertook a master\u2019s degree in psychology and the neuroscience of mental health at King\u2019s College London.\n<\/p>\n \n Jo, who \u201cloved challenges\u201d, was a keen sportswoman and a daily gym-goer.\n<\/p>\n \n She became famous for her homemade fresh juices, a passion that earned her the nickname of \u201cJuicy Jo\u201d amongst friends.\n<\/p>\n \n Four years ago, Jo accepted a job working in a remote location overseas in a bid to save up enough money to achieve her dream of getting onto the property ladder.\n<\/p>\n \n The role involved three months working followed by a month\u2019s holiday. During the off months, Jo was free to travel where she pleased \u2013 which she did \u2013 travelling across the globe to Thailand, visiting her brothers in Australia and Spain and returning to the UK to see family and friends.\n<\/p>\n \n Jo had long dreamt of buying her own home and after falling in love with Sicily during a holiday last summer, she decided to put down a deposit on a property.\n<\/p>\n \n \n In August, Janet received a devastating phone call from Jo.\n<\/p>\n \n The following week she was due to be off for her month\u2019s holiday and was going back to Sicily to complete on the house but had noticed that her leg was starting to drag.\n<\/p>\n \n She flew straight back to the UK where a scan revealed she had a large brain tumour which would require immediate surgery.\n<\/p>\n \n Just before her surgery, another scan revealed that Jo had a second, and this time inoperable, tumour on her brain.\n<\/p>\n \n Jo spent her final months at a \u201cbeautiful\u201d nursing home in Suffolk, near to her sister and her nieces and nephews.\n<\/p>\n \n \n \u201cHaving been through it once, she knew what she was going through,\u201d Janet said. \u201cShe knew she had a terrible fight ahead.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cShe was dealt an awful blow. Just as she had saved money and was getting her first place \u2013 her life was about to start the next week.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cShe was an absolute marvel; her fight for life was unbelievable.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cShe went for everything 100 per cent. We used to go out dancing and she would be laughing all the time. She was vivacious, always smiling and a lovely person. Everyone loved her.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\nJoanne overcame a life-changing disability and epilepsy to walk again and become a champion bodybuilder (Image: Supplied)<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
Jo and Janet pictured on the day they met at Brighton Pride (left) (Image: Supplied)<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
Joanne travelled to Thailand, Australia and Spain in her “off” months (Image: Supplied)<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
Joanne Morrison (Image: Supplied)<\/em><\/span>\n<\/p>\n