Sir Chris Hoy has bravely shared the heartbreaking news that his battle with cancer is now terminal, leaving him with two to four years to live. In a further blow, his wife Sarra, 40, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis.
The 48 year old former track cyclist revealed his greatest fear is his children learning about their parents’ health struggles from schoolmates.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Sir Chris expressed his concern that either his son Callum, nine, or daughter Chloe, six, could be told: “I saw your daddy on the news last night and he’s going to die.”
To avoid this becoming a reality, the family have decided to take a two-week half-term holiday, hoping things will calm down by the time they return.
“Hopefully the dust will have settled”, said Sir Chris, before adding emotionally: “You know what? It may happen. If it does, we will deal with it.”
While the couple have informed their children about Chris’ cancer diagnosis, they are yet to tell them about Sarra’s MS. In an excerpt from his new book, All That Matters, shared with The Times, Chris writes: “Another scan just before Christmas confirmed that Sarra had ‘very active and aggressive’ MS and needed urgent treatment.
“It’s the closest I’ve come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What’s going on here? It didn’t seem real. It was such a huge blow, when you’re already reeling.
“You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you’re at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you’ve got further to fall. It was brutal.”
Despite facing adversity, the retired athlete is determined to raise awareness and “change the perception of stage 4 cancer”.