Chris Hoy says cancer 'broke his spine' as tumours spread - leaving him unable to pick up his own children
27 February 2025, 06:34
Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy has told of how his spine was broken by a tumour after his terminal cancer diagnosis, leaving him unable to pick up his daughter.
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The six-time Olympic champion, who was given between two and four years to live in 2023, said the fracture had been fixed with a "cement material".
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer that then spread to other parts of the body.
Sir Chris said: “When I had scans, secondary tumours in my spine had actually burrowed into the bone so badly it had fractured.
“When they saw it they were like, ‘We’re going to have to be really careful here, you can’t pick up your kids, you can’t do anything’.
"Being told not to pick up your six-year-old daughter, that was like, ‘Right, this is really impacting my life’.
“So I had injections. They drill into your vertebrae, squirt this cement material in and it sets, fuses and makes the vertebrae as good as new again.
“So I’m back to lifting weights again.”
Sir Chris told the Mid Point podcast: “As soon as you’re told this has been taken away, you suddenly appreciate everything, the basic things.
“It’s like losing your wallet, when you find it, you’re not in a net gain situation but you’re so grateful for it."
Sir Chris revealed his diagnosis last October, and was met with praise for his bravery.
Both Sir Chris's grandfather and father had prostate cancer, which can run in families - and he has urged men in middle age to get checked out.
"If you've got family history of it like I have, if you're over the age of 45, go and ask your doctor," Sir Chris said earlier this year.
"I've got a friend who, when I told him my news early on confidentially, he went and got a PSA test and it turned out he had cancer. He's had treatment and he's been given the all-clear."
He said men should be able to get a screening test when they are younger, with no barriers to accessing one.
"Catch it before you need to have any major treatment. To me it seems a no-brainer. Reduce the age, allow more men to just go in and get a blood test," he told the BBC.
"Maybe people seeing this or hearing about my story - just by them asking their GP - will create enough of a surge of interest that people that make the decisions will go 'you know what, we need to address this'. And in the long term this will save potentially millions of lives."
NHS guidelines for England say anyone can request a PSA test if they are over the age of 50.
The charity Prostate Cancer UK also advises that black people or those with a family history of prostate cancer may want to speak to their GP about having a PSA test from the age of 45.
GPs are currently told to use their clinical judgement for men aged under 50 without symptoms who they consider to be at increased risk of prostate cancer.
Men with symptoms of any age can request a test.
The PSA test on its own is not currently recommended as a screening test for prostate cancer because, although a high level of PSA can be a sign of the disease, PSA levels can also be raised because of other things like a urine infection.
The PSA test also misses some prostate cancers - one in seven men with a normal PSA result actually have the disease.
Newer, more accurate tests are being developed.
Asked about Sir Chris's comments, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I think he makes a powerful argument there.
"That's why I've asked the NHS to look at the case for lowering the screening age on prostate cancer, and (he) even makes a particularly powerful case where there's family history.
"I'm sure his appeal to people who've got a history of prostate cancer in their family to maybe think about asking for an earlier check will already be heeded by people watching.
"And the final thing I think he's already made a difference on, is there will be lots of people out there living with cancer at the moment, either themselves or someone they love... and the way in which he has spoken so openly and full of optimism about his own journey with cancer, I think, will have given hope and inspiration to millions of people across the country.
