Sir Chris Hoy has courageously shared the impact of his terminal cancer diagnosis, including a broken back, as he continues to offer updates regarding his health battle.
The renowned six-time Olympic champion cyclist was diagnosed with cancer in September 2023 when a tumour was detected in his shoulder. A subsequent scan revealed in October last year that his condition was terminal, showing primary prostate cancer which had spread to his bones, leading doctors to estimate he had “two to four years” to live.
Speaking about his condition on Gabby Logan’s podcast, The Mid Point, Sir Chris explained how heartbroken he was after being told he couldn’t lift his kids up because of his spinal injury. “When I had the first diagnosis and scans, some of the secondary tumours in my spine had actually burrowed into the bone so badly it had fractured… I had a fractured vertebrae,” he revealed.
“When they saw it on the scan they were like, ‘We’re going to have to be really careful here, you can’t do any lifting, you can’t pick up your kids, you can’t do anything. Being told not to be able to pick up your six-year-old daughter, that was like, right, this is really impacting my life.”
But although this made him feel “horrendous”, Hoy was left “really grateful” after later undergoing a procedure that restored his vertebrae to their original condition. “I had some injections,” he explained.
“They basically drill into your vertebrae, squirt this cement material in and it sets and it fuses and it makes the vertebrae as good as new again. So I’m back to lifting weights again.
“As soon as you’re told this might be taken away from you, or it 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.
“The thought of not being able to pick up your child, the thought of that not being a possibility was horrendous. For now I’m doing OK.”
Despite his condition, Hoy remains optimistic, having seen positive results from his treatment regimen, which includes chemotherapy. When asked by Logan about his current outlook on life, the 48-year-old responded: “I don’t think about cancer first thing in the morning, I don’t think about it last thing at night. I’m physically much better and I reset my targets each day.
“If I’m in the gym or on the bike, I don’t think about the weights I used to lift two years ago or how many power reps I used to do on the bike. I have a new target, post-diagnosis benchmarks. If I have a good day, I can say it’s a personal best, today’s the best day I’ve had in the last 18 months.
“In terms of the overall picture, I think it’s about trying to bring yourself back to the here and the now, to the moment. The past is gone, that’s not here anymore, and the future isn’t here yet, it’s an abstract concept really. It doesn’t exist and you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“For me now, worry, anxiety and stress comes from trying to predict the future. You can have goals and dreams and ambitions, but it’s reminding yourself not to forget the moment you’re in right now. This is life and if you can remind yourself of that fact in good and bad moments… it’s really helping me.
“I feel like a different person compared to six months ago and I think a lot of it has been applying that mentality to my daily routines and appreciating small things. It’s great to have big things like Olympic gold medals and huge moments in life, but it’s the little things that you look back on, they’re important.”