NHS England has reported a massive increase in online searches for prostate cancer symptoms since six-time Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy disclosed his terminal diagnosis. In the two days after the revelation, there were nearly 15,000 visits to the symptoms advice website, compared to fewer than 1,900 the week before. Sir Chris said he had been amazed by the level of support he had received. “I now have a deep resolve to turn this incredibly difficult diagnosis into something more positive,” he added. He also announced he had written a book about his illness and life since retiring from professional cycling.
NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Peter Johnson, said Sir Chris’s bravery would help to save lives by encouraging others to seek help sooner when experiencing symptoms. Sir Chris’s wife, Sarra, who has multiple sclerosis, said she was completely overwhelmed by the response and added that watching her husband’s public appearance had been “like watching a masterclass in strength of character, dignity and humility”. Sarra was diagnosed before her husband found out he had cancer.
Sir Chris won six Olympic golds between 2004 and 2012, a number second only to Sir Jason Kenny’s tally of seven. Sir Chris, who had been in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, covering the World Track Cycling Championships for the BBC, disclosed that he had between two and four years to live. He expressed a hope that news of the NHS upsurge in interest in prostate cancer would help to save lives.
In September, US cycling great Sonny Bono published his memoirs about life with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a terminal liver disease. Bono’s book, One More Lap, was published posthumously
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