Chris Hoy reveals one question that rocked him as he told wife about terminal cancer

Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, 48, described his cancer diagnosis as 'the biggest shock' of his life and said telling his wife was one of the hardest things he had to do

Sir Chris Hoy has revealed the one question that rocked him when he received his terminal cancer diagnosis.

The six-time Olympic cycling champion said admitted receiving the diagnosis in September 2023 was "the biggest shock" of his life as it came "out of the blue" and led to "the toughest year" of his life. The 48-year-old said he wasn't expecting to be told that he had stage four prostate cancer as he didn't have any symptoms apart from some pain in his shoulder.

He said one of the biggest concerns he had was telling his wife, as he recalled: "I just remember sort of halfway home thinking 'where am I?' And then I was thinking 'how am I going to tell Sarra? What am I going to say?'"

Sir Chris spoke of his diagnosis during an interview with BBC Breakfast and also described the challenges of chemotherapy. Speaking to presenter Sally Nugent, Sir Chris added: "It was one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced."

He revealed telling his children Callum and Chloe, who were aged nine and six at the time, was also a big challenge. He said: "That was the first thought in my head. How on earth are we going to tell the kids? It's just this absolute horror, it is a waking nightmare, living nightmare.

"We just tried to be positive and tried to say do you know what, this is what we're doing and you can help because when I'm not feeling well, you can come and give me cuddles, you can be supportive, you can be happy, you can be kind to each other. I'm sure lots of families do it in different ways and I think there's no one right approach for anyone. There's no one-size-fits-all, but for us I think that was the best way to do it."

Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer - that's more than 12,000 men every year, according to Prostate Cancer UK. It is estimated that across the UK, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Chris previously revealed that his wife Sarra is battling "very active and aggressive" MS, having received her diagnosis just seven days after he was informed his cancer was terminal. He told The Times: "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.

"As with my diagnosis, she was the one to bring me back to the present, trying to reassure me, saying: 'Look at me, I'm fine right now, I'm here, I'm OK.'"

Last month, Sarra thanked people sending messages of support for her husband. "Completely overwhelmed by your kind, thoughtful and helpful messages," she wrote on social media. "Many people say they don’t know what to say- that's ok, you don't need to have the words - just taking the time to message has been like a soothing balm to the soul. Thank you.

"I've been told that men seeking advice about prostate cancer is up seven fold and that Chris's story is likely to save countless lives. This takes my breath away. Life is wonderful. We are excited about the future. We have so many more adventures planned…. And I am so fortunate to get to do it all with @chrishoy1 - the most incredible person I've ever met. Watching him on the BBC at the weekend was like watching a masterclass in strength of character, dignity and humility. I've said it before and I'll say it again- he truly is my real life superhero."

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