Gordon Brown was fulfilling a lifelong dream when he began building a sailboat in 2003.

"Since I was a kid, maybe 10 [years old], I've wanted to build a boat and sail it around the world," the 56-year-old Onset man said.

Brown purchased a hull and got to work on the 45-foot vessel, which he assembled in his yard. It wasn't a complete learning experience: He's spent the past two decades building boats and had some help from friends.

"It's a big project for a boat shop to build, and I did it primarily by myself," Brown said. "This is the biggest and the best. It had to be. It's mine!"

But in 2006, Brown's plans came to a halt. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"The only time that word [cancer] doesn't scare the Hell out of you is when you're talking about someone else," Brown said.

His doctor wanted to begin treatment using the usual suspects: chemotherapy and radiation.

"They nuke you," Brown said, listing off common side effects caused by those treatments. So he decided not to treat the cancer.

"Quality of life was more important to me than quantity," he said.

He tried to sell the unfinished boat, figuring he wouldn't have a chance to complete it. Jim Kegle, a Quincy resident, visited Onset to take a look at it, but declined to purchase it after realizing the work that needed to be done.

Instead, Kegle volunteered to help Brown finish building the boat.

"If it wasn't for him, I'd be dead," said Brown. "I would have sat on the couch and watched the calendar."

Kegle, however, is humble about his role.

"The real story is about Gordon," said Kegle, noting that many friends helped Brown out. "I'd hand him a tool from time to time. ... Gordon did 99.99 percent of the work."

Brown decided not to undergo the typical cancer treatments and instead treated the disease using his own methods. A Reiki Master/Teacher since 1999, Brown used the alternative healing practice, which focuses on ridding the body of negative energy and promoting healing. He also changed his diet.

"You have to change a lot of habits, like the way you think and the way you eat," Brown said. He visited his doctor only for check-ups.

"I told [the doctor], 'you're Plan B,'" he recalled.

Two-and-a-half years later, the cancer was no longer a threat. In September 2009, the boat - named Amnesty - was finished.

In September 2010, Brown was off to fulfill his dream of sailing around the world, but this time with a mission: to raise awareness about alternative cancer treatments and to honor those who have battled the disease.

He's aptly calling the voyage "The Victory Lap". He's also formed a nonprofit with the same name in an effort to raise money to help people who are fighting cancer.

"I figured, sailing around the world and helping some people ... everybody wins," Brown said. "There are alternative treatments instead of getting into a microwave."

Unfortunately, Brown endured a respiratory infection after a bad storm just a few months into the trip and had to dock the sailboat in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. He arrived home in Onset on New Year's Eve.

Now fully recuperated, Brown and his new first mate, 26-year-old Casey Mustone of Carver, are off to continue the roughly 25,000 mile voyage, which Brown estimates will take two-and-a-half years.

"I can breathe again and now it's time to get back on the boat, head south, and make some new adventures," Brown said.

Two banners fly from Amnesty. One with the names of cancer survivors and one with the names of those who have lost their lives to the disease.

Brown's name is on the "survivor" banner, and his brother, Bill, who lost his battle with lymphoma in 1988 at the age of 51, is on the other, among dozens of other names.

Brown and Mustone (who signed up for the "first mate" position just weeks ago), are ecstatic about the trip and plan to stop and see the sights - including the Great Wall of China and Egyptian pyramids.

"I'm ready to go back and kick it again," Brown said.

At least nine other boats - sailed by cancer survivors - will join Brown and Mustone on the first leg of the trip, which will take them from North Carolina to the Caribbean and then the Panama Canal. (Anyone interested in joining for a short leg of the trip - or longer - is invited to e-mail Brown at g.brown@live.com.)

"This started out being about me. ... When it started being about other people, it took off like a rocket," Brown said. "It's a celebration of life."

They don't have much money in their pockets, but Brown and Mustone are nearly fearless about the trip.

"We'll be alright," Mustone said confidently.

The trip will take the Amnesty through the Bermuda Triangle as well as areas where vessels have been attacked by pirates.

"There's no sense in wasting your time worrying about dying until then, and then it's too late," Brown said with a laugh. Recalling his previous months on the boat, he added: "Even the tough times have been pretty cool."

Brown and Mustone had planned to leave last weekend, but minor health issues held them up. The pair plans to leave as soon as possible. We will update this story when the adventure begins!

Additionally, Brown is documenting the voyage on his website, www.TheVictoryLap.org, and via Facebook.

A nonprofit bank account for The Victory Lap is established at Eastern Bank, located at 3003 Cranberry Highway in East Wareham. Anyone interested in donating money to help cancer patients can send a check to that bank and indicate that the money is for "The Victory Lap".