Sir Chris Hoy has revealed he suffered a broken back as a result of his terminal cancer and was told by doctors he could not pick up his six-year-old daughter.
The six-time Olympic champion, who announced last year he is dying with prostate cancer, said he suffered a spinal fracture due to secondary tumours spreading.
Worried doctors told the successful Scot that he could not do any lifting or pick up his young daughter, Chloe.
Hoy, 48, said being told he couldn’t pick up his child was ‘horrendous’ and that was the moment he felt like his diagnosis was ‘really impacting my life’.
Medics were able to use a ‘cement’-like material to fix his fractured vertebrae.
Hoy announced he was suffering from stage four prostate cancer in October last year, adding that he has two to four years left to live.
Speaking to the Mid Point podcast, Hoy said: ‘When I had the first diagnosis and scans, some of the secondary tumours in my spine had actually burrowed into the bone so badly it had fractured.
‘So I had a fractured vertebrae.
‘When they saw it on the scan they were like ‘we’re going to have to be really careful here, you can’t do any lifting, you can’t pick up your kids, you can’t do anything’.
‘Being told not to be able pick up your six-year-old daughter, that was like ‘right, this is really impacting my life’.
‘So I had some injections. They basically drill into your vertebrae, squirt this cement material in and it sets and it fuses and it makes the vertebrae as good as new again.
‘So I’m back to lifting weights again.
‘As soon as you’re told this might be taken away from you, or it has been taken away, you suddenly appreciate everything, the basic things.
‘It’s like losing your wallet, when you find it… you’re not in a net gain situation but you’re so grateful for it.
‘The thought of not being able to pick up your child, the thought of that not being a possibility was horrendous, and then for now I’m doing OK.’
