Sir Chris Hoy says ‘selfless’ wife, Sarra, kept MS diagnosis a secret during his cancer treatment
Sir Chris Hoy has said his “selfless” wife, Sarra, kept her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis a secret as they dealt with his prostate cancer treatment.
Sir Chris, 48, one of Britain’s most successful Olympians, revealed last weekend that his prostate cancer, which he disclosed in February, is now stage 4, and he has “two to four years” to live.
In an extract from his memoir, All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet, published in The Sunday Times, the track cyclist said his “selfless” wife, Sarra, had shown him unwavering support while facing “this absolute crisis in the midst of my own”.
Hoy celebrates winning the men’s track cycling keirin race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Pic: Reuters
Sarra went for a routine MRI scan a week after his cancer diagnosis after suffering a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.
Sir Chris said she joked it was “a chance for her to have a lie down for an hour” and “as close to a spa day as she’d get”.
She continued to support me “wholly and completely” after the scan and he thought no more of it, as her symptoms disappeared.
But he revealed his wife, who was “always so strong”, was “struggling to get the words out” when she broke the news of her diagnosis to him in December.
With “tear-filled eyes”, she asked him if he remembered the scan and said “‘they think it might be multiple sclerosis'”.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist “immediately broke down”, he said, “distraught both by the news and the fact she’d received it without me there”.
Chris Hoy and Sarra in 2021. Pic: Reuters
She had known for more than a month, he writes in the memoir, saying: “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.
“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.”
MS is a chronic condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and cannot be cured, but medicines and other treatments can help alleviate symptoms that include extreme tiredness, vision problems and difficulty with walking or balance.
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Hoy speaks after revealing cancer diagnosis
Sir Chris wrote: “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; Sarra, so fit and well, able and healthy, was facing this absolute crisis in the midst of my own.
Later that month, Sarra was told her condition was “very active and aggressive”, meaning she needed treatment “very quickly”.
He couldn’t understand how she “was able to take this news with such fortitude”.
Sir Chris describes his wife as “the centre of my life”, and writes that he knew within minutes of meeting her in 2006 that “she was everything I was looking for”.
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The couple were married four years later and have two children, seven-year-old Chloe and Callum, 10.
He said in his book: “Sarra has amazed me with all that she has faced. She has supported me and encourages me every step of the way, but rarely speaks about her own symptoms.”
On Thursday, Sarra posted on social media saying she was “completely overwhelmed” by the “kind, thoughtful and helpful messages” following her husband’s announcement and called him a “real-life superhero”.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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