Nurse who died 13 days after brain tumour discovery told daughter on day of diagnosis: ‘I know you’re going to miss me’

A “beautiful” nurse who died just 13 days after doctors discovered a cancerous brain tumour told her eldest daughter on the day of her diagnosis: “I know you’re really going to miss me.”

Jean Branch, known affectionately as Jeannie, was a “proud” mother to her four children – Christopher, 38, Lewis, 36, Nancy Simmons, 30, and Polly, 22 – and nanny to her grandchildren.

Jeannie juggled multiple jobs while raising her children, and Nancy said she loved clothing, shoes and skincare products, adding that she always “looked perfect”.

In 2013, the mother-of-four was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a type of blood cancer which affects white blood cells – and reached remission in 2014, before relapsing in 2016 and reaching remission again in 2019.

However, in October 2025, Jeannie started behaving strangely, she was forgetful and even locked herself out of her house on October 27, and she soon stopped communicating and responding properly to her children.

On October 29, after taking her to hospital, doctors said they discovered a cancerous brain tumour and there was “nothing they could do”, and Jeannie later died in Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice on November 11, aged 58.

The family are now fundraising to give back to the hospice which cared for Jeannie before she died, saying it is helping them feel “closer” to her.

Speaking about the moments before she died, Nancy told PA Real Life: “About five minutes before this, my brother was opening up a chair and he snapped it.

“Since he goes to the gym all the time, he made a joke about breaking it and we were all hysterically laughing in this room.

“Mum was smirking as well and then, two minutes after that, her breathing just changed.

“The doctors said sometimes they’re waiting for the right moment to go and, at that time, she had her four children together with her, laughing, in the same room.

“Then the song (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher came on and she died. It was like she waited for that moment.”

Jeannie worked as a nurse for most of her life, progressing to deputy sister in the intensive care unit at University Hospital Lewisham.

While she often worked night shifts, she kept the home running “perfectly” and remained a devoted mother to her children, with Polly describing her as “strong, independent and incredible.”

“She loved her job and she worked incredibly hard for it – she went to university when my brothers and I were younger,” Nancy, who lives in Sidcup, south-east London, explained.

“She was juggling three different jobs at a time, university, toddlers.

“She didn’t have much money growing up, so I think one of her biggest goals in life was to make sure we didn’t have the same challenges.

“We’ve always been a close family.”

In 2013, Jeannie was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and she underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, reaching remission in 2014.

She then relapsed in 2016, with the cancer spreading and progressing from Stage 2 to Stage 3, and she received a stem cell transplant to replace damaged blood cells with healthy ones.

However, in 2019, the family were told that Jeannie may only have six months to live and she was offered palliative care.

“We were literally told she probably won’t see six months, so we were beginning to say our goodbyes,” Nancy said.

She was subsequently offered CAR T therapy and Nancy and Polly said she was the second person in the UK to receive this treatment at the time.

This placed her into remission again in 2019 and, although Jeannie suffered “damage” from the treatments, Nancy said she still “led a fun, hands-on life” and she did not “let anything defeat her”.

In September 2025, Jeannie noticed she “kept forgetting everything”, but since “everything else was completely normal”, she did not think much of it.

Then, on October 27, the day the family were travelling to Bath to see Polly, Jeannie messaged Nancy to say she had locked herself out of her house.

Nancy continued: “We got to my sister’s and, by the time we got there, she just stopped talking and barely said anything.

“Then the next day, her behaviour carried on and I just said to her, ‘What is going on?’, and again, we were barely getting anything from her.”

There were other unusual signs, such as Jeannie wanting to sleep on the sofa with Polly’s dog, although she was not particularly fond of dogs, and her not being able to read a restaurant menu or drive properly.

Nancy and Polly questioned whether she was having “a mental breakdown” or had suffered a stroke, as these behaviours “came completely out of nowhere”.

“We all thought it was mental health… never in my head did I think it was anything to do with cancer,” Polly said.

“I thought maybe she’d had a bleed (on the brain) or a stroke.”

After bringing Jeannie back home, the family took her to King’s College Hospital in London on October 29 for an assessment – and, within the space of a few hours in the A&E department, she deteriorated further.

“Polly was texting us, saying, ‘She doesn’t even know who she is, where she is, she doesn’t know anything’,” Nancy said.

“Then it was only two hours later and Polly had called me to say that they’d done a scan and they’d found a cancerous tumour on her brain.

“So, I drove up to King’s to be with mum. I sat down and, as soon as I sat there, she held onto my hand and she just looked at me and said: ‘I know you’re really going to miss me’.”

Polly added: “Then when the consultant left, I said to her, ‘Do you understand what’s happening?’, and she just nodded and said: ‘I think it’s time for me to die now’.”

Doctors soon said Jeannie was just “one grade away from being completely brain dead”, so the family stayed in hospital, cuddling her, reminiscing and singing the EastEnders theme tune, as it was one of her favourite TV programmes.

Although they were told she would not survive, Nancy and Polly said they struggled to “believe it”, as Jeannie was a “true fighter” and had overcome cancer twice already.

Jeannie was subsequently transferred to Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice on November 4 and she was placed into palliative care, before she died on November 11 2025, aged 58, surrounded by her four children, her sister Julie and partner Michael.

Polly said: “Even after they’d confirmed that she’d died – I knew that she’d died, I couldn’t see her breathing – I remember thinking, she’s just taking a breath, she’s not dead.”

Nancy added: “I couldn’t let go of her hand.”

Nancy and Polly said grief has impacted them in different ways, but launching the fundraiser for the “amazing” staff at the hospice has given them a purpose.

The family are now adjusting to a “new normal”, but they said giving back to the hospice is helping them feel “closer” to Jeannie.

“It’s so special, and I’m so grateful to everybody who has made the effort to go on there and donate,” Nancy said.

“She would have wanted it to go to the hospice and to help someone else, like they helped her and us.

“We will be eternally grateful for the love, care and compassion that they showed us all.”

Pascale Harvie, president and general manager at JustGiving, said: “Nancy’s story highlights the vital role hospices play in supporting families when they need it most.

“We’re proud to support her fundraising for Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice and the essential work they do for people across the local community.”

To donate or find out more, visit the JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/page/nancy-simmons-1.