I'm more grateful for each day - Sir Chris Hoy

It is simply a small implicit 2 weeks since six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy announced that his crab was terminal.

It is simply a measurement of the precocious respect successful which the 48-year-old is held by the federation that the quality prompted a near eight-fold summation successful NHS searches for prostate crab symptoms implicit the pursuing days.

In his archetypal TV interrogation since then, Sir Chris tells BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent of the "absolute daze and horror" helium felt astatine his archetypal diagnosis, the "nightmare" of learning woman Sarra had aggregate sclerosis, and having to interruption the quality to their 2 young children.

But helium besides speaks astir however they are dealing with their situation, the outpouring of enactment they person received and - remarkably - however helium is focusing connected the positives and the bully helium hopes tin travel from it.

"It's been the toughest twelvemonth of our lives truthful acold by immoderate stretch," says Sir Chris. The quality that helium had a terminal illness, successful September 2023, came "completely retired the blue".

"No symptoms, nary warnings, nothing. All I had was a symptom successful my enarthrosis and a small spot of symptom successful my ribs."

He thought it was conscionable aches and pains from moving retired successful the gym. "But this ache and symptom didn't spell away.

"I assumed it was going to beryllium tendonitis oregon something, and it was conscionable going to beryllium laic disconnected weights oregon laic disconnected cycling for a wee portion and get immoderate attraction and it'll beryllium fine."

A scan revealed a tumour. "It was the biggest daze of my life. I retrieve the feeling of conscionable implicit fearfulness and shock.

"I conscionable fundamentally walked backmost successful a daze. I couldn't judge the quality and I was conscionable trying to process it, I don't retrieve walking. I conscionable retrieve benignant of halfway location reasoning 'where americium I?' And past I was reasoning 'how americium I going to archer Sarra? What americium I going to say?'."

Several scans and infirmary appointments followed. It had spread. Secondary bony crab from prostate cancer, helium was told.

"I'd had zero symptoms, thing to constituent maine towards that that mightiness beryllium an issue. We were fixed the quality that this was incurable.

"Suddenly, everything, each your thoughts, everything rushes. It's astir similar your beingness is flashing earlier your eyes successful that moment.

"It does consciousness similar this isn't real. You consciousness that you privation to get out, you consciousness similar you're a caged animal, you privation to get retired of that consulting country and get distant from the infirmary and tally distant from it all.

"But you realise you can't outrun this, this is wrong you and this is conscionable the archetypal measurement of the process of acceptance."

Sir Chris and Sarra person 2 children, Callum and Chloe, who were aged 9 and six astatine the time. How would they interruption the quality to them?

"That was the archetypal thought successful my head," Sir Chris says. "How connected world are we going to archer the kids? It's conscionable this implicit horror, it is simply a waking nightmare, surviving nightmare.

"We conscionable tried to beryllium affirmative and tried to accidental bash you cognize what, this is what we're doing and you tin assistance due to the fact that erstwhile I'm not feeling well, you tin travel and springiness maine cuddles, you tin beryllium supportive, you tin beryllium happy, you tin beryllium benignant to each other.

"I'm definite tons of families bash it successful antithetic ways and I deliberation there's nary 1 close attack for anyone. There's nary one-size-fits-all, but for america I deliberation that was the champion mode to bash it."

Sir Chris says chemotherapy "was 1 of the biggest challenges I've ever faced and gone through" astatine a clip erstwhile helium was "still reeling from the diagnosis" conscionable a fewer weeks earlier.

He says helium tried to absorption connected the positives and spot it arsenic "a bully thing, we're present to effort and to commencement punching back, this is going to beryllium a affirmative combat against the cancer".

He "wasn’t fussed" astir perchance losing his hairsbreadth - though lad Callum had immoderate concerns.

"I deliberation helium was disquieted astir what it would beryllium similar if I conscionable abruptly turned up to prime him up astatine schoolhouse with nary hairsbreadth and it mightiness beryllium a daze for him."

When it started, the chemotherapy was "excruciating".

"It's similar torture basically. I wasn't acceptable for it, I didn't cognize however to header with it, however to woody with it initially."

He utilized Callum, and his large uncle Andy, who had been a captive of warfare successful Japan, arsenic "motivating factors" to get done it and developed a strategy for coping with the two-hour attraction sessions. "Don't bash it for 2 hours, bash it for 1 minute. The strategy was conscionable instrumentality it 1 measurement astatine a time, conscionable woody with the adjacent minute, conscionable ticker that seconds manus spell circular the clock.

"If you tin bash 1 much minute, that's each you request to do. And past erstwhile it gets circular to the extremity of the minute, you bash it again.

"I don't deliberation we needfully springiness ourselves capable recognition for what we're capable to woody with. It's lone erstwhile you're successful truly hard situations you find retired what you're made of and what you tin woody with.

"And it puts it into position riding bikes for a living, you realise 'God, that was conscionable a spot of amusive really', you know."

Following a scan, woman Sarra learned successful November 2023 she had aggregate sclerosis, lone sharing the quality with her sister. "The spot of Sarra is unbelievable, she kept it to herself," Sir Chris explains.

"Throughout each of that she was determination for maine but didn't astatine immoderate constituent crack. And it was truly lone successful December that she said 'this is the quality I've had'.

"That was the lowest constituent I think. That was the constituent wherever I abruptly thought 'what is going on?' I astir felt similar saying OK stop, this is simply a dream, aftermath maine up, this isn't real, this is simply a nightmare. You were already connected the canvas and I conscionable felt this, different punch erstwhile you're already down - it was similar getting that footwear connected the floor.

"That was the spot wherever you deliberation if you didn't person the kids, if you didn't person that intent and the implicit request to support getting retired of furniture each time and moving on, it would person been truly difficult. But that's wherefore you’re a team. You assistance each other.

"You interest astir your family, you interest astir radical adjacent to you. It's not wherever we thought we would beryllium a twelvemonth ago. That was the hardest constituent without question, that diagnosis.

"But we're pressing on, she's receiving attraction and she's doing good astatine the moment, and aren't we fortunate that there's attraction for it? She has medicine she tin instrumentality and I person medicine I tin take. So we're lucky."

In a storied cycling career, Edinburgh-born Sir Chris established himself arsenic a British sporting icon. One of the country's astir decorated Olympians, helium won six golden medals crossed 4 Games. London 2012, helium says "felt similar it was the culmination of my full career".

"The timing of everything was perfect. I was truthful fortunate to person a location Olympics during my vocation and my lifetime. That infinitesimal erstwhile I walked connected to the way and you knew that this is it. This is the last country successful the movie, this is benignant of the culmination of each that hard enactment and that effect from the crowd, the noise. It was thing I'll ne'er forget.

"I tin bring those images backmost similar that. You unopen your eyes and you're backmost successful that velodrome. We each person these moments successful our lives. It's conscionable fantastic to person these memories that you tin look backmost connected and it conscionable becomes a spot much poignant implicit the past year, you look backmost connected them with adjacent much intensity.

"The stakes are overmuch higher now. It felt similar beingness and decease successful the infinitesimal erstwhile you were battling it retired for an Olympic golden medal, but the stakes person changed dramatically and it is beingness and death.

"But the rule is the same, it's astir focusing connected what you person power implicit and not worrying astir the worldly that you can't control.

"You don't conscionable abruptly person a leap guardant and 1 time you aftermath up and everything's OK. It takes clip and you've got to beryllium disciplined with however you attack it, and you've got to nip things successful the bud earlier these antagonistic thoughts commencement to instrumentality hold."

When Sir Chris revealed his diagnosis past month, the nationalist daze was seismic. Messages flowed from each walks of life, from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland's archetypal curate John Swinney to chap sporting icons, specified arsenic Olympic cyclist and erstwhile Great Britain team-mate Sir Mark Cavendish.

The messages of enactment proceed to determination in. Former England shot skipper David Beckham, Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin and different Scottish sporting superstar successful Sir Andy Murray person each got successful touch. "It's overwhelming," Sir Chris says.

And it is the consciousness of what Sir Chris is going done that helium hopes tin present a life-saving bequest acold beyond the Glasgow velodrome which bears his name.

For one, helium is hoping his level volition assistance him transportation much men to instrumentality a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) humor trial to cheque for cancer.

Both his gramps and begetter person had prostate cancer, which is familial but tin impact anyone - 1 successful 8 men volition person prostate crab successful their beingness astatine immoderate point.

"If you've got household past of it similar I have, if you're implicit the property of 45, spell and inquire your doctor. I've got a person who, erstwhile I told him my quality aboriginal connected confidentially, helium went and got a PSA trial and it turned retired helium had cancer. He's had attraction and he's been fixed the all-clear."

He would similar to spot screening for men with a beardown household past of prostate crab commencement astatine an earlier age. "Catch it earlier you request to person immoderate large treatment. To maine it seems a no-brainer. Reduce the age, let much men to conscionable spell successful and get a humor test.

"Maybe radical seeing this oregon proceeding astir my communicative - conscionable by them asking their GP - volition make capable of a surge of involvement that radical that marque the decisions volition spell 'you cognize what, we request to code this'. And successful the agelong word this volition prevention perchance millions of lives."

An awareness-raising foundation motorcycle thrust is planned for 2025 for radical with signifier 4 cancers. Sir Chris wants it to alteration perspectives and amusement "many radical tin inactive person precise afloat and blessed lives, and steadfast lives, dealing with it".

"I'm not saying everybody's successful the aforesaid vessel but there's anticipation retired there. Look astatine maine now, six months connected from finishing chemo and I'm riding my motorcycle each day, I'm successful the gym, I'm physically active, I'm not successful pain. When radical speech astir battles with cancer, for maine the biggest conflict is betwixt your ears.

"It's the intelligence struggle, it's the situation to effort and woody with these thoughts, woody with the implications of the quality you're given. Your beingness is turned upside down with 1 sentence. You've walked successful 1 idiosyncratic and you locomotion retired arsenic different person.

"When you perceive terminal illness, terminal cancer, you conscionable person this representation successful your caput of what it is, what it's going to beryllium like. And everybody's different, and not everybody is fixed the clip that I've been fixed - and that's wherefore I consciousness lucky. We genuinely consciousness lucky, arsenic brainsick arsenic that mightiness sound, due to the fact that we've got the time."

He has utilized that clip to constitute a publication - All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet - which is released this week, and says the process was "cathartic".

"I've hoped it's going to assistance different people, not conscionable radical who are going done a akin concern to maine oregon families going done a akin situation, but for anyone successful beingness to effort and recognize that nary substance what challenges you're facing, you tin get done them. And it doesn't mean that there's going to beryllium a blessed ending, I'm not delusional.

"I cognize what the extremity effect volition be. Nobody lives forever. Our clip connected this satellite is finite. Don't discarded your clip worrying astir worldly that isn't that important. Focus connected the things that are important, absorption connected your family, the radical successful your life. Do that happening that you've ever planned to bash 1 day, wherefore not bash it today.

"My position connected beingness has changed massively. I americium much thankful, I'm much grateful for each day. It's been a pugnacious twelvemonth and it's going to beryllium pugnacious up successful the aboriginal excessively but for now, close present close now, we're doing beauteous well."

The afloat interrogation - Sir Chris Hoy: Finding Hope - volition beryllium shown connected BBC One astatine 20:00 GMT connected Tuesday, 5 November