Balderton dad Andrew Hirst thanks community of Newark and beyond after grade 4 glioblastoma diagnosis
A terminally-ill dad of three has thanked the community for coming together to help give him more precious time with his family as he awaits the results of his latest scan.
As reported in the Advertiser last month, Andrew Hirst, 35, has grade 4 glioblastoma with a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, and is aiming to raise £250,000 to undergo pioneering treatment overseas to give him more precious time with his family.
After his diagnosis in November 2024, Andrew then underwent 30 sessions of chemotherapy and 30 sessions of radiotherapy to reduce the tumour, but sadly these treatments will not cure glioblastomas of this nature.
He had a new scan on Saturday March 1 to see if the treatment has shrunk the tumour — if it has, then his life expectancy could be longer than this, but if not, then sadly Andrew could not see Christmas this year. He is expecting these results on Wednesday next week (March 12).
And now he is hoping to raise enough money to access lifesaving immunotherapy and hyperthermy treatment abroad that could give me more precious time with his wife Rachael and children Freddie, 10, Juliana, 6, and three-year-old Maximilian, and he said he has been “blown away” by the support from the community.
Many people have come forward to organise fundraisers to help Andrew reach the £250,000 total, including his cousin Kate Robinson who held an online social media competition to win free music lessons when a donation was made to the cause, and a cake sale and quiz at Tambo Lounge in Newark also raised thousands of pounds.
One upcoming fundraiser is by the Newark Castle Keepers Netball Club who have organised an impressive raffle, with prizes including a six month gym membership at Code Fitness, and Eden Hall Day Spa voucher, a signed training top from Nottingham Forest Netball, beauty, tattoo, and clothes vouchers, and much more.
The raffle will be drawn on Saturday March 29 at Coddington village hall between 4pm and 7pm, with tickets costing £2 a strip or £15 for 10.
The team are also running a fundraising netball tournament to raise money for Andrew’s cause, which is taking place on Sunday March 23 from 9am, and any teams wishing to join in can find out more information via the Facebook event page.
Arcade Mania have launched a competition giving entrants the chance to win one of their arcade machines worth £949 when a donation is made to Andrew’s cause.
“The kindness of people in the community has really blown me away,” Andrew said, “It’s been overwhelming how people want to help and how much they have been raising.”
So far, more than £80,000 has been raised towards the total to fund Andrew’s treatment. To make a donation, you can do so online at https://gofund.me/0416d92b
Andrew has been continuing to keep busy and stay healthy, and even finished a ParkRun in 28 minutes, as well as completing 20 laps in the pool.
“I’m just trying to keep as healthy as I can, I feel really good at the moment so just trying to keep at it,” he added.
