Sir Chris Hoy has said he is “utterly blown away” by the support he has received since announcing he has terminal cancer.
In his first message since he shared that his prostate cancer is now stage 4, the six-time Olympic cycling champion said he is “so grateful to everyone for their incredible kindness and support”.
“It is not the news anyone imagines hearing, and it obviously came as a huge shock,” Sir Chris said in a message on Instagram.
He added that he and his family have taken the time to process the news, and he now has a “deep resolve to turn this incredibly difficult diagnosis into something more positive”.
A host of sport and entertainment stars shared their support for Sir Chris after his announcement on Sunday, in which he said he was told last year he has “two to four years” to live.
Fellow cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish called him a “hero of a human being”, while David Beckham told him to “stay strong” and to “keep smiling”.
His announcement also sparked the biggest surge in web searches for the disease since the royal family’s diagnoses, the charity Macmillan Cancer Support said earlier this week.
Sir Chris said that the increase in men seeking advice about prostate cancer is a “huge comfort”, adding: “Hopefully many lives could be saved by early testing”.
His wife Sarra also posted on social media to say she was “completely overwhelmed” by the “kind, thoughtful and helpful messages” following her husband’s announcement.
Calling him a “real life superhero”, she said: “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.”
She said the pair have “so many more adventures planned” and are “excited about the future”, adding: “I am so fortunate to get to do it all with @chrishoy1 – the most incredible person I’ve ever met.”
Sir Chris has also announced he is releasing a book next month, which will document how he coped with the diagnosis and “found hope and the resolve to keep pushing on”.
Speaking about writing the book, which is called All That Matters, he said: “It’s been cathartic and it’s a very important part of how I have been able to process this news with my family and for myself.
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“I wanted to share this in the hope that it might help others in challenging situations too.”
Macmillan said its website had 31,000 visits after Sir Chris’s interview with The Sunday Times, announcing the diagnosis – 34% higher than the average number for a Sunday over the past year.
Search engine data also showed a “surge in overall web searches for cancer in the UK” on the same day, according to the charity.
