A man from Portsmouth living with stage four prostate cancer says he saved his twin brother’s life by persuading him to take a simple blood test.
Andy Gissing, a sailing instructor and longtime volunteer with RNLI, was diagnosed in 2020. By then, the cancer had already spread to his bones, lungs and soft tissue. Five years later, he convinced his brother to take a PSA test. His brother agreed reluctantly, Andy said, and was diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early stage when it was still operable.
“To people who don’t want to get checked, I say ‘Look through the lens of having to tell your children’,” he said. “My brother would only go to the doctor if his arm was falling off. I did save his life.”
Andy said the day he told his wife, Polly and their two children about his diagnosis was “the hardest day of my life”. He still tracks his PSA scores closely as part of ongoing treatment. “Every time I see the consultant, they want to know what my score is. They are living it with me.”
He believes the cancer took hold long before he noticed his first symptom, which was needing to go to the toilet more often at night. He is now publicising his diagnosis to raise awareness and to help fund treatment he hopes will extend his life.
Andy is fundraising for private lutetium 177 therapy, a targeted radiation treatment that delivers radiation directly to tumours. The therapy showed positive results in clinical trials reported by Prostate Cancer UK in 2021. Andy said the treatment could give him as much as 18 more months.
Colleagues from sailing and the RNLI have raised more than £53,000 toward his £80,000 goal. Andy, now on his third and final round of chemotherapy, said he is “humbled” by the support. He was initially told he might have only nine months. “Chemo seems to be keeping the cancer at bay. But as my consultant has said, after that the cupboard is bare,” he said.
“Extra time would mean so much. And, if it is to be the last phase of my life, I would also like to play my part in testing a pioneering treatment.”
Prostate cancer affects the gland located under the bladder. It most often occurs in men over 50, according to the Natioanl Health Service (NHS). Andy said he hopes his story encourages more men to get checked early, especially those who tend to avoid the doctor.
