Chris Hoy reveals moment he was told ache was a tumour in first interview since terminal prostate cancer diagnosis
SIR Chris Hoy has revealed the moment he was told his shoulder ache was a tumour in a candid interview about his cancer diagnosis.
The six-time Olympic cycling champion announced last month in a Sunday Times interview that his cancer is terminal.
The 48-year-old first made public in February that he was undergoing treatment including chemotherapy.
A tumour was found in Hoy‘s shoulder and a second scan found primary cancer in his prostate which had metastasised to his bones.
In his first TV interview since then, Sir Chris told BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent how a scan revealed it was a tumour.
He felt “absolute shock and horror” at his initial diagnosis and the “nightmare” of having to break the news to his wife.
Sarra, 40, was also told she had a “very reactive and aggressive” type of MS just weeks later.
He said: “It was the biggest shock of my life. I remember the feeling of just absolute horror and shock.
“I just basically walked back in a daze.
“I couldn’t believe the news and I was just trying to process it, I don’t remember walking.
“I just remember sort of halfway home thinking ‘where am I?’ And then I was thinking ‘how am I going to tell Sarra? What am I going to say?’.”
When he was given the bombshell news that his cancer was terminal, Sir Chris told how he was left shell-shocked.
He said: “Suddenly, everything, all your thoughts, everything rushes.
“It’s almost like your life is flashing before your eyes in that moment.
“It does feel like this isn’t real. You feel that you want to get out, you feel like you’re a caged animal, you want to get out of that consulting room and get away from the hospital and run away from it all.
“But you realise you can’t outrun this, this is within you and this is just the first step of the process of acceptance.”
The cycling legend said his first thought was how he would break the news to his two young children.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
- Needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
- Straining or taking a long time while peeing
- Weak flow
- Feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
- Blood in urine or blood in semen
Source: NHS
He said: “How on earth are we going to tell the kids? It’s just this absolute horror, it is a waking nightmare, living nightmare
“We just tried to be positive and tried to say ‘do you know what, this is what we’re doing and you can help because when I’m not feeling well, you can come and give me cuddles, you can be supportive, you can be happy, you can be kind to each other’.”
On his Olympic wins and his career, Sir Chris said: “The stakes are much higher now.
“It felt like life and death in the moment when you were battling it out for an Olympic gold medal but the stakes have changed dramatically and it is life and death.
“But the principle is the same, it’s about focusing on what you have control over and not worrying about the stuff that you can’t control.”
Sir Chris also called for a change to the current screening in England.
The NHS has no national screening program for prostate cancer, but men aged 50 and over can ask their GP for a free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
He said: “I believe that the screening for men with a strong family history of prostate cancer, should be a lot younger, a lot.
“It’s logical to me why would you not just get the test a little bit earlier, catch it before you need to have any major treatment? So to me it seems a no-brainer.
“Why would they not reduce the age, bring the age down, allow more men to just go in and get a blood test?”
Chris Hoy's career achievements
- Track Cycling Dominance: Sir Chris Hoy is one of Britain’s most successful track cyclists, known for his exceptional prowess in sprint events.
- Olympic Gold Medals: Hoy has won a total of six Olympic gold medals, making him the most successful British Olympian in terms of golds.
- First Olympic Success: He won his first Olympic gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
- Triple Gold in Beijing: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hoy made history by winning three gold medals in the team sprint, individual sprint, and keirin events.
- London 2012 Triumph: Hoy added two more gold medals to his tally at the 2012 London Olympics in the team sprint and keirin, bringing his total Olympic golds to six.
- World Championships: Hoy has also been a dominant force at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, securing 11 world titles over his career.
- Keirin Specialisation: Hoy is particularly renowned for his skill in the keirin, a track cycling event originating from Japan.
- Retirement: Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling in April 2013, ending a glittering career that spanned over a decade.
- Knighthood: In recognition of his services to cycling, Hoy was knighted in 2009, becoming Sir Chris Hoy.
- Post-Retirement Ventures: After retiring, Hoy has been involved in various ventures, including motorsport, media work, and promoting cycling and healthy living.
Asked if that was something he could change, Hoy replied: “I hope so.
“I hope, well maybe not, maybe people seeing this or hearing about my story and then 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 actually, even from a logistical point of view would save potentially millions of lives in the long term.
“And why wouldn’t you, you know, why wouldn’t you?”
His diagnosis came after his father and grandfather were both diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In September 2023, a doctor delivered the awful news to Hoy that he had Stage 4 cancer.
After what was first diagnosed as a tumour in his shoulder, the primary cancer was then located in his prostate.
It had then unfortunately spread to his bones, pelvis, hip, spine, shoulder and rib.
Medics have given Hoy two to four years to live.
Sarra’s condition was spotted when she went for a scan after experiencing a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.