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Brighton Bodybuilder and Two-Time Cancer Survivor Joanne Morrison Dies at 61

A new brain tumour diagnosis last summer cut short her plan to start a new life in Sicily.

Overview

  • Joanne Morrison, 61, died in Suffolk on March 13 after doctors found two brain tumours in August 2025, one inoperable.
  • She had earlier beaten advanced cervical cancer at 26 and a later brain tumour at 43 while serving as a physical instructor in the Women’s Royal Army Corps.
  • Emergency brain surgery left her with epilepsy and severe left‑side mobility loss, and she spent two years learning to walk before winning bodybuilding titles.
  • After rehab she worked as a health coach, wrote Finding the Other Me, and pursued a master’s in psychology and the neuroscience of mental health at King’s College London.
  • She spent her final months in a Suffolk care home near her sister as friends, led by Janet O’Byrne, praised her drive in tributes carried by The Argus, the Express and the Daily Star.