Andrew Hirst, 36, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, was living a full and active life dedicated to teaching, exercise, and enjoying time with his wife and three children. Everything changed in November 2024 when he began suffering severe headaches and fatigue that were initially dismissed as migraines. Andrew was rushed to hospital, where scans diagnosed him with a glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and incurable brain tumour. Since then, he has undergone surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy to keep the cancerous tumour at bay. Now, he’s in a race against time to raise £250,000 for cutting-edge treatment not available through the NHS.
Andrew tells his story…
My life was full. I was teaching, running parkruns, and spending time with my wife Rachael and our three amazing kids. I rarely drank, never smoked and kept active. I genuinely thought I was doing everything right.
But in autumn 2024, the headaches started. They were severe and relentless and at one point, I experienced them for 10 days straight. On 12 November, after trying and failing to get urgent help from my GP several times, I called 111 because I couldn’t take the pain any longer. I was told to go straight to my doctor and, from there, everything happened very quickly. Within minutes, I was rushed to King’s Mill Hospital. A CT scan revealed a large tumour in my brain, and I was transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for surgery and a biopsy to determine the type of tumour.
Hearing the diagnosis of glioblastoma left me lost for words.
I did not have a history of cancer in my family. I did not understand the terminology. All I knew was that it was serious, and when you hear something like that, about how aggressive and incurable it is, your mind just jumps to the worst.
During the emergency surgery that lasted seven hours, they removed as much of the tumour as they could. When I came round, I remember asking for my work laptop so that I could go back to work, as I had not fully grasped how serious things were yet.
I pushed myself to recover quickly. Within a day, I was up and walking. I wanted to go home to be with my family, and I lost two stone in a fortnight. A few weeks later, in December, I began 30 sessions of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy at Nottingham City Hospital.
We were told from the start that this treatment wasn’t a cure – It might just buy a little more time.
I later discovered, after requesting my own medical records, that I have a unmethylated glioblastoma. This means I am in the 99 percent for whom chemotherapy is unlikely to work. That was devastating. I had endured all the side effects of treatment and it might not have made any difference.
Navigating the NHS system has been incredibly difficult. I have had to fight for every piece of information, chase my own scans, and there is no single point of contact. One of my MRIs was done in a mobile unit in an Asda car park, even though I had just driven past two hospitals with an MRI machine. It is exhausting.
Another important point is that I lost my driving license, and the DVLA refused to renew it, even though I have a medical letter from my oncology consultant confirming that I am neurologically and physically fit to drive. I remain very active, running around 20 kilometres each week, as well as cycling and swimming regularly. I also teach D&T and food practicals to students without any physical difficulty. Despite this, I am still not permitted to drive, which makes daily life and work even more challenging.
But I am not giving up. I am now fundraising for treatment that could give me more time with my family. Immunotherapy both show real promise for glioblastoma patients, but they are not available through the NHS. My GoFundMe campaign went live in early February 2025, and the response has been overwhelming. I thought maybe a few friends and colleagues might chip in, but former pupils, people I had not spoken to in years and even complete strangers have donated. We have raised over £92,000 so far, but we still have a long way to go.
I am close to starting the neo-antigen personalised peptide vaccination in Germany.
This really is a race against time but the sooner we can start, the better my chances are.
More than anything, I want time. Time to give Freddie his first driving lesson. To run another parkrun with Juliana. To walk her down the aisle. To take Maximilian to his first day at school. I cannot imagine not being there for those moments.
This diagnosis has also changed how I see everything. I have gone from trusting the system completely, to learning how to question, challenge and advocate for myself. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone in a similar position, it would be this: ask questions, stay informed, and never be afraid to push for answers.
Glioblastoma carries a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, but I refuse to let that define me. That is just a number. I am determined to fight this on my own terms, for my family, for my students, and for myself.
Andrew Hirst
April 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Andrew’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure.