Sir Chris Hoy has inspired the nation yet again by sharing his cancer diagnosis
21 October 2024, 08:48
Sir Chris Hoy has inspired Britain in the velodrome for years. Now, he’s done it again by bravely sharing his cancer diagnosis.
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Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy has been a national icon for decades, with his efforts for Team GB uniting the nation at the Olympics as far back as 2000.
But this weekend, his raw honesty inspired the country in an entirely different way.
By revealing his terminal diagnosis, Sir Chris has shown immense courage. His decision to go public will undoubtedly encourage thousands of Brits to get checked for prostate cancer.
The story is so tragic - doctors have given him just two to four years to live.
His cancer, now incurable, has spread to his bones, with tumours in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine, and ribs.
As if that wasn’t devastating enough, his wife Sarra has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis.
The couple, who have two children aged seven and 10, are facing an unimaginable ordeal. It’s no wonder that Sir Chris asked himself: why me?
Writing in his new book, he said: ‘It didn’t seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you're already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you’re at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you’ve got further to fall. It was brutal’.
I remember spending hours trying to catch a glimpse of him in central London during the 2012 Olympics. When we finally saw him address a crowd of fans, he was as engaging and charismatic as we hoped.
The nation has been shaken by the news. No one can quite believe that someone as fit as Sir Chris Hoy could be facing such a grim diagnosis.
The Prime Minister is right to say that ‘the whole country is behind him and his family’. His former Olympics teammate Sir Mark Cavendish has described Sir Chris as a ‘hero of a human being’.
By sharing his diagnosis so openly, Sir Chris has inspired Britain once again, and according to Prostate Cancer UK, he ‘could save countless lives of other men’.
We can only hope that in the time he has left, he finds joy in broadcasting, spending time with his family, and, of course, getting out on his bike.
We’ve always known that Sir Chris Hoy has thighs the size of tree trunks and buckets of charm, but now we know he also has a heart of gold.
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