Sir Chris Hoy on navigating ‘dark days’ of cancer and how family coped | Other | Sport

Sir Chris Hoy says he has been uplifted by reports that more men are coming forward for prostate cancer screening following his own diagnosis. The Olympic legend’s world was turned upside down in 2023 when he received the devastating news. Sir Chris’ cancer has since spread to his bones and in 2024 doctors delivered the crushing blow that he had between two and four years left.

The 50-year-old amassed 37 medals throughout a glittering career as a track cyclist, claiming Olympic gold on six occasions, including at London 2012. He has demonstrated remarkable strength since his diagnosis and has successfully championed awareness for prostate cancer. He continues to generate funds through numerous charitable initiatives.

Sir Chris is organising another Tour de 4 charity cycling event in September, following last year’s maiden race which generated more than £3.1million. Speaking on the podcast Drive with Jim Farley, he revealed how he maintains positivity during his bleakest moments, drawing comfort from knowing that more men are seeking testing.

“All we have is the present, and it’s understanding that and recognising that no matter what’s going on in our lives, we have to bring ourselves back to the here and the now, and that’s how I’ve managed to deal with it,” he said. “Yeah, this big charity event is going on, it’s been, it’s been my focus, it’s helped us as a family.

“I think I’ve come to terms with it, and we’re dealing with it, I think, better than I imagined we could, and just trying to get an overall net positive gain. And going back to helping other people, there has been a huge spike in the number of men who are going to the doctors to request PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) tests.

“It’s now, I think it was something like 5,000 more men in the UK were tested during the first three weeks after my diagnosis was public. It’s incredible, the messages I get from men and from their families saying, ‘Because of your diagnosis, I had no, no symptoms, no worries, but I thought I’d go and check. Had a PSA test, and it turns out I do have cancer, but I’ve caught it early.’ And when it’s caught early, prostate cancer is very treatable.

“It lifts me up when, you know, I’m positive, and I always look for the positives or try to reject the negatives, but even then, you still have difficult times and you have dark days.

“The aim is also to change perceptions of stage four cancer. So stage four cancer is when it’s spread to the bones and there’s no cure, you can be treated for it, but there’s no cure.

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“And so we have many people who’ll be riding on the day who are in the same situation as me, and have different forms of cancer, but it’s a stage four.

“And we want to change perceptions, because there’ll be people who’ll be getting the worst possible diagnosis while this ride is going on and it’s gonna be on the news and all the TV channels, and I thought it’d be quite a powerful thing to demonstrate that actually life goes on until it doesn’t go on, if you know what I mean.”

Sir Chris is married to Lady Sarra Hoy. The couple have son Callum and daughter Chloe. He spoke candidly about how his illness has taken its toll on his family and the way he sustains a positive mindset.

“You have to make the most of the present,” he said. “Whilst we all have plans for tomorrow, and we all have, it’s important to have goals and exciting things to aim for. All we actually have is the here and the now. You know, the past is gone, that’s history.

“I’ve got two young kids, they’re seven and 10, so it’s, as you might imagine, it’s been a very difficult couple of years, but when you hear these stories, it gives you a purpose, and you realise that it goes way beyond racing bikes or cars or anything like that. This is life and death.”