Sir Chris Hoy: British Olympic icon talks to BBC about terminal cancer
When Sir Chris revealed his diagnosis last month, the public shock was seismic. Messages flowed from all walks of life, from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s first minister John Swinney to fellow sporting icons, such as Olympic cyclist and former Great Britain team-mate Sir Mark Cavendish.
The messages of support continue to pour in. Former England football captain David Beckham, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and another Scottish sporting superstar in Sir Andy Murray have all got in touch. “It’s overwhelming,” Sir Chris says.
And it is the awareness of what Sir Chris is going through that he hopes can deliver a life-saving legacy far beyond the Glasgow velodrome which bears his name.
For one, he is hoping his platform will help him persuade more men to take a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test to check for cancer.
Both his grandfather and father have had prostate cancer, which is genetic but can affect anyone – one in eight men will have prostate cancer in their life at some point.
“If you’ve got family history of it like I have, if you’re over the age of 45, go and ask your doctor. 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 would like to see screening for men with a strong family history of prostate cancer start at an earlier age. “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.
“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.”
An awareness-raising charity bike ride is planned for 2025 for people with stage four cancers. Sir Chris wants it to change perspectives and show “many people can still have very full and happy lives, and healthy lives, dealing with it”.
“I’m not saying everybody’s in the same boat but there’s hope out there. Look at me now, six months on from finishing chemo and I’m riding my bike every day, I’m in the gym, I’m physically active, I’m not in pain. When people talk about battles with cancer, for me the biggest battle is between your ears.
“It’s the mental struggle, it’s the challenge to try and deal with these thoughts, deal with the implications of the news you’re given. Your life is turned upside down with one sentence. You’ve walked in one person and you walk out as another person.
“When you hear terminal illness, terminal cancer, you just have this image in your head of what it is, what it’s going to be like. And everybody’s different, and not everybody is given the time that I’ve been given – and that’s why I feel lucky. We genuinely feel lucky, as crazy as that might sound, because we’ve got the time.”
He has used that time to write a book – All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet – which is released this week, and says the process was “cathartic”.
“I’ve hoped it’s going to help other people, not just people who are going through a similar situation to me or families going through a similar situation, but for anyone in life to try and understand that no matter what challenges you’re facing, you can get through them. And it doesn’t mean that there’s going to be a happy ending, I’m not delusional.
“I know what the end result will be. Nobody lives forever. Our time on this planet is finite. Don’t waste your time worrying about stuff that isn’t that important. Focus on the things that are important, focus on your family, the people in your life. Do that thing that you’ve always planned to do one day, why not do it today.
“My perspective on life has changed massively. I am more thankful, I’m more grateful for each day. It’s been a tough year and it’s going to be tough ahead in the future too but for now, right here right now, we’re doing pretty well.”
The full interview – Sir Chris Hoy: Finding Hope – will be shown on BBC One at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, 5 November
