Sir Chris Hoy has revealed that he wore an ‘excruciatingly painful’ cold cap during his cancer treatment so his son would not see him lose his hair.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist has revealed this week that he has terminal cancer.
Hoy first announced in February that he was undergoing treatment for cancer, but said he was ‘optimistic’ and then worked as a BBC pundit at the Paris Olympics in the summer.
But he revealed in a bombshell interview with The Times this week that he has been told by doctors he has just two to four years left to live
The 48-year-old also spoke about the brave lengths he went to in order to shield his children, Callum and Chloe, then nine and six, from his grave illness.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist has revealed this week that he has terminal cancer. (Sir Chris Hoy with his three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games)
Callum asked whether his dad would die when he was told about the diagnosis. (Pictured, Callum with Hoy’s wife, Sarra)
Because Callum kept asking Hoy whether he would lose his hair, for the sake of his son, he endured the freezing agony of a cold cap while undergoing six rounds over 18 weeks of chemotherapy.
Speaking to the Times, he said: ‘It’s like having your head in a vice.’
Hoy also told the paper that his children were informed about his diagnosis during dinner, to which Callum asked whether his dad would die.
Hoy said that no one lives forever but he hoped to carry on for many years thanks to the chemotherapy – which he had a horrific allergic reaction to in the second round.
And now in the midst of a media furore, Hoy has decided to take his family on a two-week half-term holiday in order for the ‘dust to settle’ before they get back home.
He also revealed his fear that a child at school might say to one of his children, ‘I saw your daddy on the news last night and he’s going to die.’
‘It might happen,’ Hoy added. ‘If it does, we will deal with it.’
Hoy said that his doting children help him appreciate each day and get through difficult moments.
Sir Chris Hoy wrote a memoir about his tumultuous year, in which he also detailed how his wife’s devastating diagnosis was delivered only weeks after he discovered he had cancer.
Sir Hoy’s wife, who has ‘got him through it all’ over the last 14-years, was ordered to have a scan by her GP after she began to experience a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.
Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra after he won the Team Sprint Final during day six of the London 2012 Olympic Games
Sir Chris Hoy is knighted by the then Prince of Wales during the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Sir Chris Hoy won six Olympic gold medals for Team GB between 2004 and 2012
It later emerged she had MS (multiple sclerosis) – a degenerative disease for which there is no cure.
Despite receiving her results in November, in the midst of the anguish of the 48-year-old’s diagnosis, Sarra didn’t inform him of her own prognosis until December.
Sarra, 40, worked as a senior lawyer before the couple, who married in Edinburgh in 2010, had their children.
On the more difficult days, she finds it a challenge to fit her key in the door, but she has remained positive, continuing to run and attend gym classes, according to Sir Hoy.
Sir Chris Hoy won six Olympic gold medals for Team GB between 2004 and 2012.
In an Instagram post eight months ago, the cyclist wrote: ‘I’m currently receiving treatment, including chemotherapy, which is thankfully going really well. I’m optimistic, positive…Â I currently feel fine. I am continuing to work, ride my bike and live my life as normal.’
Sir Hoy’s cancer was discovered after a trip to the doctor in September last year when the Scot was feeling a strain in his shoulder.
A tumour was then discovered in his shoulder, before a second scan located the primary cancer in his prostate.
The prostate cancer had spread to Hoy’s bones – getting into his shoulder, pelvis, spine and ribs.
Sir Hoy was knighted in 2008 while he was still an active athlete.
His royal recognition came shortly after he became the first British male Olympian in 100 years to win three gold medals at one Games.
