Olympic winner Sir Chris Hoy and wife, Sarra reveal heartbreaking question their children asked after cancer diagnosis

Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy, have spoken openly about how their young children reacted to his cancer diagnosis. The six-time Olympic cycling champion was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in September 2023.

He made the diagnosis public a year later. The news changed the family’s life overnight and forced difficult conversations at home.In an emotional interview, the couple shared how they explained the illness to their son and daughter. Mr and Mrs Hoy have two children. Their son Callum was born in 2014, and their daughter Chloe was born in 2017. Speaking about that moment, Mrs Hoy revealed how confused and scared the children felt after learning about their father’s condition.

The cherry blossom tree helped explain cancer to Sir Chris Hoy’s children

Speaking to the BBC, Lady Sarra Hoy revealed the questions their children asked when they were told about their dad’s cancer. She said the kids were frightened because they had heard about the disease before. Sarra explained, “They were scared; they had heard about cancer.”She then revealed the heartbreaking questions that followed. She added, “Questions come very quickly, will he die? Will I catch it? Did I cause it? Is it because I was naughty?”Mrs Hoy said she and Sir Chris Hoy wanted to be honest while also making the situation less frightening.

She explained their approach by saying, “I wanted to make cancer and chemotherapy part of our lives.”At the same time Sir Chris Hoy was diagnosed with cancer, his wife also received devastating news. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an incurable and degenerative condition. It affects the brain and spinal cord. On bad days, she struggles with simple tasks, including putting a key in a door.To help their children understand chemotherapy, the family came up with a creative idea.

They used a cherry blossom tree in their garden as a symbol. She noticed that her husband’s treatment would end around spring. The family painted a large tree with no leaves. Each day, the children added pink blossoms as their father went through chemo.Choking up, Sarra added, “Every day the kids would get up and stick a bit of blossom on the tree.”She explained the meaning behind it. The family believed they were “helping daddy regrow.”

Chris added that by the end of treatment, the real tree was blooming too. He said the cherry blossom was “symbolic” of rebirth and regrowth.Sarra said she was “doing it for Chris as much as for the children.” She wanted him to see that “trees are stripped bare, stripped down to nothing, but that they regrow.” Chris shared that each morning, the tree looked fuller. He joked it was the opposite of how he felt physically. Still, he said the project helped him feel he was getting through it and was doing something positive.Also Read: Ice Dance Skating sensation Piper Gilles questions ice dance judging after missing podium at Grand Prix Final