Chris Hoy's wife's heartbreaking four-word response as they're both diagnosed with incurable illness

Sir Chris Hoy has revealed his cancer is terminal and his wife is battling an aggressive form of MS, but they both feel lucky that there are some treatments for their illnesses

Sir Chris Hoy has shared his wife's heartbreaking four-word response after they were both diagnosed with incurable illnesses.

In February this year, the 48-year-old Olympian revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy. Despite shocking his fans with the revelation, Sir Chris said he was feeling "optimistic, positive" and continuing to "work, ride my bike and live my life as normal."

However, in a new update shared last night, the Olympic gold medallist revealed his cancer is terminal and he is expected to live between two and four years. Sadly, the family is facing a double heartbreak as his wife Sarra has also been diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS) and has been told by doctors that she needs urgent treatment.

Chris said that on her worst days, Sarra now struggles to put a key in the door, but refuses to feel down about the diagnosis and replied "How lucky are we?" when the news was delivered.

The Olympic legend said his brave wife told him: "How lucky are we? We both have incurable illnesses for which there is some treatment. Not every disease has that. It could be a lot worse."

The Team GB champion revealed that while he and Sarra told their two children - seven-year-old Chloe and 10-year-old Callum - of his cancer diagnosis, they decided to keep their mum's MS battle a secret for now. The dad told The Times: "I never want to lie to them. But there are certain things you don’t need to tell them straight away."

Sir Chris said he had been "given enough time" to come to terms with his illness, but reflected on tough conversations with his children. After starting chemotherapy, his son asked if he was going to die, and Sir Chris told his son that no one lives for ever but he hoped the treatment could help him "be here for many, many years".

He added his wife was at his side when he learnt last September that his cancer had spread and was terminal. Doctors explained it was stage four and incurable, and he wrote in his book: "And just like that, I learn how I will die."

In February, he wrote in a social media post: "I have a bit of news. Last year I was diagnosed with cancer, which came as a huge shock, having had no symptoms up to that point. I'm currently receiving treatment including chemotherapy which thankfully is going really well. I'd like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the medical professionals for their amazing help and care.

"For the sake of my young family, I had hoped to keep this information private but regrettably our hand has been forced. Whilst I'm thankful for any support, I'd like to deal with this privately. My heart goes out to the many others who are also going through similar challenges right now.

"I'm optimistic, positive and surrounded by love for which I'm truly grateful. As you might imagine, the last few months have been incredibly difficult. However, I currently feel fine - I am continuing to work, ride my bike and live my life as normal. It's an exciting year of work ahead, not least with the Paris Olympics in July. I can't wait to get stuck in, have fun and share it with you all."

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