Olympic champion reveals he wore ‘excruciatingly’ cold cap during chemotherapy so son wouldn’t see him losing hair in terminal cancer treatment

Sir Chris Hoy has revealed he wore an “incredibly painful” cold cap during his cancer treatment so his son wouldn’t see him lose his hair.

The six-time Olympic gold medalist revealed this week that he has terminal cancer.

Hoy first announced in February that he was undergoing treatment for cancer, but said he was “optimistic” and then worked as a BBC pundit at the Paris Olympics in the summer.

But he revealed in a wide-ranging interview with The Times this week that doctors have told him he only has two to four years to live.

The 48-year-old also spoke of the brave acts he did to protect his children, Callum and Chloe, aged nine and six, from his serious illness.

The six-time Olympic gold medalist revealed this week that he has terminal cancer. (Sir Chris Hoy with his three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics)

Callum asked if his father was going to die when he was told the diagnosis. (In the photo, Callum with Today’s wife, Sarra)

As Callum kept asking Hoy if he would lose his hair, for his son’s sake, he endured the freezing agony of a cold cap as he underwent six rounds over 18 weeks of chemotherapy.

Speaking to the Times, he said: “It’s like having your head in a vice.”

Hoy also told the paper that his children were told about his diagnosis over dinner, at which Callum asked if their father was going to die.

Hoy said no one lives forever, but he hoped to continue for many years thanks to chemotherapy, to which he had a horrible allergic reaction in the second round.

And now, amid a media frenzy, Hoy has decided to take his family on a two-week half-term holiday to let the “dust settle” before returning home.

She also revealed her fear that a child at school will say to one of her children: “I saw your dad on the news last night and he’s going to die.”

“It can happen,” Hoy added. “If he does, we’ll deal with it.”

Hoy said her adorable children help her appreciate every day and get through difficult times.

Sir Chris Hoy wrote a memoir about his tumultuous year, also detailing how his wife’s devastating diagnosis was delivered just weeks after she found out she had cancer.

Sir Hoy’s wife, who has been “over it all” for the past 14 years, was ordered by her GP after she started experiencing a tingling sensation in her face and tongue.

Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra after winning the team sprint final on day six of the London 2012 Olympic Games

Sir Chris Hoy is knighted by the then Prince of Wales during the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Sir Chris Hoy won six Olympic gold medals for Team GB between 2004 and 2012

It later emerged that he had MS (multiple sclerosis), a degenerative disease for which there is no cure.

Despite receiving her results in November, amid the anguish of the 48-year-old’s diagnosis, Sarra did not tell her her own prognosis until December.

Sarra, 40, worked as a senior solicitor before the couple, who married in Edinburgh in 2010, had their children.

On the hardest days, she finds it a challenge to put her key in the door, but has remained positive, continuing to run and attend gym classes, according to Sir Hoy.

Sir Chris Hoy won six Olympic gold medals for Team GB between 2004 and 2012.

In an Instagram post eight months ago, the cyclist wrote: “I’m currently receiving treatment, including chemotherapy, which thankfully is going very well. I’m optimistic, positive… I’m doing well at the moment. I’m still working, cycling and living my life normally”.

Sir Hoy’s cancer was discovered after a visit to the doctor in September last year when the Scot felt a strain in his shoulder.

A tumor was then discovered in his shoulder, before a second scan located the primary cancer in his prostate.

The prostate cancer had spread to Hoy’s bones, entering his shoulder, pelvis, spine and ribs.

Sir Hoy was knighted in 2008 while still an active athlete.

His royal accolade came shortly after he became the first British male Olympian in 100 years to win three gold medals in one Games.