Sir Chris Hoy Opens Up About Terminal Cancer Diagnosis and Wife’s Multiple Sclerosis Battle
The Team GB cycling legend, Sir Chris Hoy, has spoken candidly about his terminal cancer diagnosis and the impact it has had on his family life. In a recent interview with The Times, Hoy revealed that his condition, which was diagnosed in 2023, has not had a significant effect on his children, despite his initial fears.
According to Wales Online, Hoy was diagnosed with primary cancer in his prostate, which had spread to his bones, including his shoulder, pelvis, ribs, and spine. Doctors gave him between two and four years left to live. In a cruel twist, his wife, Sarra, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS) just a week after her husband’s diagnosis.
The couple, who have two young children, Callum and Chloe, have been open about their respective health battles. Hoy has previously spoken about the "absolute horror" and "waking nightmare" of dealing with his diagnosis and the impact it would have on his family. However, he now says that his illness is "not something that really scares them" and his family are currently "in a nice spot".
Speaking about his children’s reaction to his diagnosis, Hoy said: "Touch wood, it doesn’t feel as though they’ve been massively affected by it. They’ve always been a bit frustrated with people coming up, wanting a photograph of Daddy. Now they’re like, ‘Oh, is it because of the cancer?’ I think they understand that cancer is part of our lives. It’s not something that really scares them, they don’t really talk about it much, it’s just there."
Hoy also revealed that he and Sarra have not told their children about her MS diagnosis, adding that she "doesn’t want the focus". Indeed, Sarra initially kept her illness from her husband as he dealt with his cancer diagnosis. The neurological condition, which affects the brain and spinal cord, is incurable, but treatment can make it manageable.
As reported by Wales Online, Hoy described Sarra as "the epitome of selflessness", having supported him in the wake of his diagnosis despite also dealing with her own heartbreaking health battle. He recalled in his autobiography that Sarra went for a routine MRI just seven days after his cancer diagnosis and did not mention anything more of it for over a month.
Hoy wrote: "She went on to explain they had called her and told her over a month before. It was so hard to try to compute that she had absorbed the awfulness of this diagnosis alone, without sharing it with me, in order to protect me. I tried to let the words sink in as my mind was spinning, trying to understand what had been happening to her, all while she had been accompanying me to every one of my own hospital appointments."
The Team GB icon has previously paid tribute to his wife’s strength and resilience in the face of her diagnosis. He added: "She is the epitome of selflessness, putting the kids and me before herself and always doing it through love not obligation. The future is a great unknown for us both now."
Reflecting on how he felt after being told his cancer was terminal, Hoy said: "Initially you feel you’re never going to tell your kids off again. You want them to only remember you as the perfect father who always says yes if they want an ice cream, or yes if they get on the iPad, or whatever. And you realise that that phase is very short. It feels like the family routine is as it was before, which I think is remarkable, really. That will definitely change, obviously, but I think for now we’re just getting on with life, and it just feels like we’re in a nice spot."
As reported by Wales Online, Hoy’s story is a testament to the strength and resilience of his family in the face of adversity. Despite the challenges they are facing, they remain committed to living life to the fullest and cherishing the time they have together.
