Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, courage and me – ‘I realized I could make a difference’

Howie has intelligently provided support at this difficult time in his life.

Steve Peters was the man Howie knew he could make a difference.

The list of athletes Peters has worked with – a general list he is happy to talk about on the record – is a high-profile ‘who’s who’ from Steven Gerrard to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The donkeys in the front field of the psychiatrist’s country house belie that attractive and charming list.

But her laid-back nature makes perfect sense when she spends a few hours in the company of Peters and Howie.

Peters has been Howie’s first point of contact throughout his career when it comes to training and clearing his mind to be at his peak in and around Olympic competition.

He was also one of the first people Howie called when he got his final diagnosis last year.

Initially, Peters was part of the firefighting phase of what Hoey’s wife, Sarah, described as “deep grief” in the first few days after the diagnosis.

But over time, and with Peters’ help, Howie began to find a new purpose.

First, the aim is to raise awareness of the limitations of current treatment for prostate cancer in the UK. Howie’s father and grandfather both had prostate cancer.

Understandably, because early diagnosis could have transformed his diagnosis from terminal to manageable, the 49-year-old Scot eloquently argues that a national screening program should be a priority for men from their 45th birthday onwards.

But more importantly, his approach also aims to show other people with cancer that sport and exercise can remain a positive part of their lives, even through their treatment.

“What Chris did when he got this disease was he said, ‘Okay, what’s the plan?’ And after we went through the initial stages of shock and the resulting grief, he came out the other side and took aim,” Peters explains.

“It was to reach other people. It became a mission for him.”