Sir Chris Hoy says 'everybody has set amount of time' as athlete battles cancer
Sir Chris Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer almost three years ago before his prognosis became permanent
Olympic hero Sir Chris Hoy has given an heartbreaking update on his terminal cancer diagnosis as he faces up to his "deadline being brought forward".
The cyclist is one of Britain's most decorated Olympians with an impressive six gold medals and one silver medal to his name.
But he was faced with his biggest challenge to date when he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in September 2023. News of his condition was made public the following year and in October 2024, just over a year after his initial diagnosis, it was announced the disease had spread to his bones and was terminal.
Around that time, Sir Chris revealed he had been given between two and four years to live, but almost two years since that announcement the sporting star is still fighting and keeping fit.
During a chat with the Sunday Times, he admitted members of the public often come up to him to offer their sympathies without also realising that their own time is limited.
He said: "They come up to me and are sort of sympathetic. 'I'm really sorry to hear about your diagnosis, how are you dealing with it?' And you think, but everyone's in the same situation.
"We only have a set amount of time, everybody. It's just that my deadline's been brought forward a little bit, and therefore I'm a bit more aware of it."
Sir Chris discovered he had stage 4 cancer on a routine visit to the doctor for a shoulder sprain. It revealed he had tumours in his shoulder, pelvis, spine and rib.
Shortly before the cyclist received his diagnosis, his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable and degenerative neurological condition.
Despite his illness, Sir Chris has tried not to let it impact his physical fitness. He has just finished cycling coast to coast across Spain over the space of a week, with an average of about six and half hours every day of pedalling.
The 47-year-old was determined that to follow the expert advice that cancer patients should take it easy.
Despite multiple rounds of chemo and radiotherapy, alongside the heavy cancer medication, Sir Chris reckons his fitness level is just 20% lower than it was pre-diagnosis.
He thinks it was even higher before a horrific leg break last November when he crashed while mountain biking in south Wales.
Sir Chris said: "A lot of the doctors I spoke to in the early days almost just rolled their eyes when I was saying: 'Can I do this, can I do that?'
"The notion was, stop doing these silly things and just get your head around the fact that you've got this terrible disease, take the pills we're telling you to take and just lie down and let it take over."
