A DAD-OF-THREE from Gawber who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer just before Christmas is now facing a race against time to raise £250,000 for crucial ‘life-extending’ treatment - and he’s hit £65,000 in just one week.
Andrew Hirst was an otherwise fit and healthy man before his diagnosis - running the Parkrun with his kids every weekend, rarely drinking and having never smoked.
But in November the 35-year-old began to experience severe headaches and fatigue - only to be told by his GP that he was experiencing migraines.
After pushing through for over a week he rang 111 and within an hour was rushed to Kingsmill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, near to where he now lives, with a ‘dangerously high’ 42C temperature and severe sensitivity to light.
He was then diagnosed with glioblastoma - the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain.
Andrew said: “It got to the point where I couldn’t cope anymore - I couldn’t even look at my mobile phone.
“I was given a CT scan but the result were devastating - a large tumour was found in my brain.
“After five days on steroids to reduce the swelling, I was transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where I underwent brain surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible and collect samples for further analysis.
“Determined to fight, I pushed myself to recover quickly so I could return home to my family after two weeks apart from my children.”
In December he began gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment - but he always had his sights set on returning home to his family.
He added: “I had 30 sessions of chemo and radiotherapy for 30 straight days.
“I’ve been feeling up and down.
“But I’m determined to get my life back to normal.
“I’m doing the Parkrun again already - it’s all about mentality.”
Andrew admits that his chances aren’t great - but he’s determined to go down every avenue to spend more time with his wife Rachael and children Freddie, Juliana and Maximilian.
“Glioblastomas are relentless - only 25 per cent of patients survive beyond one year,” he added.
“I refuse to become another statistic.
“I know that the odds are terrible.
“I’ve got another scan in March and if it’s grown then they’re saying that I probably won’t see the end of the year.
“One day I will die due to it - it’s just a matter of how long.
“I can’t imagine not being there to watch my children grow up and pursue their dreams; to give Freddie his first driving lesson; to run another Parkrun with Juliana, let alone walk her down the aisle at her wedding; to take Maximilian to his first day at school.
“I’m not going to give up and I’m trying to be positive.
“I’ve told my son that ‘daddy’s not given up’ - as long as I have that mentality then I’ll keep going.”
Andrew has subsequently set up a fundraiser for cutting edge hyperthermy and immunotherapy treatment approaches that are not available on the NHS.
He’s hoping to raise £250,000 for the treatment - which has already shown ‘incredible promise’ for grade four tumours - and he’s already surpassed the £60,000 mark.
He said: “It’s been overwhelming.
“I just put the fundraiser on Facebook thinking that my friends and family might all throw a fiver in.
“But within 17 hours it had already reached £26,500.
“I’m just blown away by people’s kindness.
“It’s blown my mind.
“This is truly a race against time, and every single donation or share brings me closer to the treatment I need.”
To donate to the fundraiser, follow the link https://www.gofundme.com/f/536hk-help-andrew-fight-brain-cancer?attribution_id=sl:40da9f37-4133-4bbe-a3c3-ee5379448cf3&lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=native_options
