A father-of-two from Hampshire has issued a stark warning to men after discovering that his sudden need for repeated night-time toilet trips was the only early indicator of his incurable prostate cancer.
A Subtle Change With Devastating Consequences
Andy Gissing, a 62-year-old from Portsmouth, first visited his GP in January 2020 after noticing a subtle but persistent change in his habits. He had begun waking up once or twice each night to urinate, something he had not previously experienced. Assuming it might be a simple urinary tract infection, he did not initially consider it urgent.
"I hadn't struggled with having to get up to go for a wee in the night before but I thought it wasn't normal," Andy recalled. "I didn't think there was anything urgent. I was getting up once or twice in the night, nothing outrageous. I hadn't been struggling with anything else at all or been feeling unwell."
The Shocking Diagnosis and Relentless Fight
A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test revealed a shocking reality. His PSA levels were almost 200% higher than the normal range. Following a biopsy, he received a devastating diagnosis in March 2020: stage-four, advanced metastatic prostate cancer.
"It had spread to my lymph nodes, my lungs, and to my bones," Andy said. The news was a profound shock, especially as he considered himself fit and active, regularly attending spin classes.
Since his diagnosis, Andy has endured an intensive treatment regimen. He underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy alongside radiotherapy in 2020, followed by a further seven rounds in 2024. Despite this, the cancer has continued to progress, particularly in his bones. He has recently begun a third course of chemotherapy, consisting of ten sessions, but holds little hope it will significantly slow the disease.
A 'Last Hope' Private Treatment and a Plea to Others
Facing the prospect of end-of-life care once his current NHS treatment concludes, Andy has turned to private funding. He has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for targeted radionuclide therapy called Lutetium-177, a precision treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells.
"If I don't raise the money and I don't get the treatment, then I'm looking at end-of-life treatment," he stated bluntly. "That's my last hope." The public response has been overwhelming, with £32,000 raised within the first three days.
Andy is now urging other men to learn from his experience and not ignore potential symptoms or delay seeking medical advice due to embarrassment. Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in UK men, with over 60,000 cases and around 12,000 deaths annually.
"The horrors of what I have been going through and fighting for six years pale into total insignificance when people think it might be a little bit embarrassing to go and get a prostate check," he said. "The hardest thing is watching my family go through it."
Common symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
- Needing to urinate more frequently, especially at night.
- Difficulty starting to urinate or a weak flow.
- A feeling that the bladder is not fully empty.
- Erectile dysfunction, blood in urine, or unexplained pain.
Andy's case highlights growing calls for more targeted screening, as late diagnosis remains a major factor in poor outcomes for this disease.
