Sir Chris Hoy's '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 while supporting him through his cancer treatment.

Sir Chris, 48, one of Britain’s most successful Olympians, revealed on October 20 that he has terminal prostate cancer, having first shared his diagnosis in February.

In an extract from his memoir All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet, published in The Sunday Times, Sir Chris praised Sarra for her unwavering support while facing "this absolute crisis in the midst of my own".

He recalled Sarra undergoing a routine MRI scan just a week after his cancer diagnosis to investigate a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.

Sarra joked that the scan was her chance "to have a lie down for an hour" and was "as close to a spa day as she'd get," Sir Chris said.

He added: "Afterwards, she continued to support me wholly and completely, leading me to push all thoughts of her MRI scan away, given her symptoms had long since disappeared.

After the scan, a tearful Sarra, struggling to speak, told Sir Chris and their children, Callum and Chloe, that doctors "think it might be multiple sclerosis".

He said: "I immediately broke down, distraught both by the news and the fact she’d received it without me there."

Sarra had known about the diagnosis a month before.

"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," Sir Chris explained.

"I tried to let the words sink in as 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.

"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."

Sarra was later told that year that her MS was "very active and aggressive," requiring treatment "very quickly".

Sir Chris recalled Sarra telling her doctor that her husband had stage 4 cancer, saying, “I need you to help me outrun this.”

"I couldn’t quite fathom the amount of strength she showed to be able to take this news with such fortitude.”

Sarra began receiving treatment as Sir Chris was finishing his chemotherapy in March.

He said she now receives medication via intravenous drip at hospital visits every six months.

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The six-time Olympic gold medallist describes Sarra as "the centre of my life”. The pair have been married since 2010.

In his book, he said: "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, after her husband's announcement, Sarra said on Instagram that she was "completely overwhelmed" by the "kind, thoughtful and helpful messages".

She described Sir Hoy as her "real-life superhero".

What is MS?

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, incurable condition affecting the brain and spinal cord.

Medicines and other treatments can help manage symptoms that include extreme tiredness, vision problems, and difficulty walking or balancing.

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