Sir Chris Hoy has told how – one year after his cancer diagnosis – he has conquered the daily crushing fear of death.
The inspiring Olympian – who has already saved many lives through his cancer awareness work – is now able to go to bed and wake up without thinking of the killer disease.
In a powerful interview, track cyclist Chris also told how he has found huge comfort and support he received after he and wife, Lady Sarra, 40, made the bold decision to go public with his diagnosis.
And he openly talks of his hopes that advances in prostate cancer research – which his fundraising and awareness efforts are hugely aiding – may give him more vital years with his family.
The six time Olympic gold medallist told BBC Scotland’s Stephen Jardine how the horror of a terminal diagnosis consumed him in the early weeks and months after the diagnosis last February – but not any more.
He said: “You know, every morning you wake up in the first few days and weeks, it’s almost a shock.
“You sort of wake up and you have that split second of realisation and the horror of it and then it becomes the norm.
“Then you think about it every day, and then I’ve got to the point now, over a year on, from diagnosis, where it isn’t the first thing I think about, and it isn’t the last thing I think about, and you get your head around the fact that none of us are here forever.”
Sir Chris, who confirmed his diagnosis was terminal in October last year, revealed the mental adjustment that has made him live for every day.
He said: “You know, life is not infinite, but we do all behave that way. That’s normal. It’s not normal to think about your own mortality, but when you realize that actually, do you know what?
“Nothing has changed here. Life was finite before and it’s finite now.
“What’s important is making the most of every single moment of living in the present and not letting the things that used to stress you out or worry you get to you quite as much because you get perspective.
“There’s not many positive things to come out of this situation, but I feel like I’ve got a different perspective on life, and I try to find a joy in any situation at all.”
Sir Chris has found huge support from wife Sarra, who has been dealing with her own multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis a secret as they dealt with his stage 4 prostate diagnosis, which doctors believe gives him another two to four years to live.
He has revealed that his treatment has gone extremely well so far – and he still hopes for medical advances that will prolong his life.
He said: “I’m putting faith in medical science and realising that actually it’s working for me.
“So far, there’s no guarantee that the treatments will work for you. They have for me.
“And it doesn’t mean it’s gone away for good, but it’s under control right now, but there are a number of other treatments that are waiting in the wings for me to use when they stop the current one stops working.
“And I guess the hope is that you just keep, you know, staying one step ahead of it, that the medical science stays one step ahead of your cancer, that something else comes out in a couple of years time.
“And you know, it’s incredible what can happen with funding and with research and the incredible minds that we have out there.
“The prognosis you get is pretty bleak with stage four prostate cancer. But actually, if you delve a bit deeper, there’s reason to be optimistic that could be getting quite a pessimistic estimation.
“But again, doctors don’t want to give you false hope, so they basically give you no hope at all.
“But you’ve got to find your own hope. And it’s not just hope about I might live longer. It’s hope that you can get back to living your life and truly live your life with this kind of diagnosis.
“It doesn’t define you. It doesn’t you know, it doesn’t take over your life. You adapt your life to deal with it, but it doesn’t define who you are or what you stand for.”
Sir Chris, from Edinburgh, said he has been buoyed by the support of friends and strangers alike since he went public with the diagnosis when the news came.
He said: “It’s about ensuring that you have got the message across to them, you know that you’re prepared for it, but I think that the positives outweigh the negatives.
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“In terms of going public, it was, it wasn’t easy to do.
“It was a terrifying thing to do, really in the first instance, because, in a way, it doesn’t seem quite as real when it’s just in your private life.
“But once you push that button and you send it out to social media, and it becomes public domain and public knowledge. It’s, it’s not you’re under your control anymore.
“And part of it, I guess, is ensuring that the truth gets out there. You know, I knew that eventually stuff would leak into the media.
“But it was, I think it was being on the front foot and realising that actually, this is bigger than me.
“This is something that I could I can make a difference with other people, although I must admit, I didn’t think it would have quite the impact it has.
“It’s quite incredible, and it really does lift me up.
“There’s some days when it’s tough, and that’s when you look at the bigger picture and realize, actually, I can make sense of all of this, because I can see that there’s, yeah, there’s a net positive gain by me being in this situation. I have a platform, and I’m trying to use it in as positive way as possible.”
Sir Chris, 48, said he has had nothing but support from people on the street, despite the fact most people would be reticent about approaching him to talk of his illness.
He said: “People are maybe a little bit more reticent to do so because it’s a sensitive and private thing. But actually, it lifts me up when you hear about it, I get a lot of messages on social media, and it’s quite incredible, really, and you suddenly realise you’re not alone.
“It’s a very common thing. And and other people are going through this, you know, people you walk past in the street, people that you sit next to in the bus, people that you work with colleagues who might be going through this without actually telling anybody about it.
“Everybody’s, you know, going through difficult things in their lives. So I guess it’s another reminder, actually, just to be kind to everyone. But for me, hearing these stories, it lifts me up and makes me, give me more purpose, and keeps driving me on to make sure that we can spread the word as much as possible.”
Inspirational Chris still took time to repeat the message that has saved many lives already – urging other men to get checked out for prostate cancer.
He said: “ would say whether you’re whether you’re a man, whether it’s the important man in your life, encourage them, first of all, to take the risk checker online.
“It only takes 30 seconds, three questions, you can find out if you’re at higher risk.
“If you are, take that information to your GP, and it’s as simple as that, just start the ball rolling.
“It’s quick, it’s easy, if you catch it early, it’s very treatable.”
Chris’s wife Sarra is a “real-life superhero” and believes her husband’s announcement that his condition was terminal was “likely to save countless lives”.
Within weeks of his announcement, the number of men seeking advice about prostate cancer was up sevenfold.
A scan found that the main cancer found in his prostate had metastasised to his shoulder, pelvis, hip, ribs and spine and was stage 4. He had announced in February that he had been diagnosed with the disease.
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