Sir Chris Hoy has called for lowering the age for prostate cancer screening, which could potentially save ‘millions of lives’.
The six-time Olympic cycling champion urged for a change in the screening programme after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, for which he is undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy.
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He said that screening for men with a ‘strong family history of prostate cancer, should be a lot younger’.
‘Why would they not reduce the age, bring the age down, allow more men to just go in and get a blood test? And in the long term this would save potentially millions of lives.’
In 2023, a tumour was found in the 48-year-old’s shoulder and a second scan found primary cancer in his prostate, which had metastasised to his bones. Both his grandfather and father had prostate cancer, which can run in families.
In a BBC interview, Hoy said it was ‘the toughest year of our [family’s] lives’.
‘It does feel like this isn't real. You feel that you want to get out, you feel like you're a caged animal, you want to get out of that consulting room and get away from the hospital and run away from it all,’ he said.
According to Prostate Cancer UK, men who have a brother or father with prostate cancer are 2.5 times more likely to develop the disease, and the risk increases if they were under 60 when diagnosed.
The charity advises black people or those with a family history of prostate cancer to speak to their GP about having a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test from the age of 45.
Hoy is also urging all men under 50 to get a screening test and ‘catch it before you need to have any major treatment’.
Currently, the NHS has no national screening programme for prostate cancer, but men aged 50 and over can ask their GP for a free PSA test.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said Hoy’s appeal was a ‘powerful argument’. ‘That’s why I’ve asked the NHS to look at the case for lowering the screening age on prostate cancer, and (he) even makes a particularly powerful case where there’s family history.
‘I’m sure his appeal to people who’ve got a history of prostate cancer in their family to maybe think about asking for an earlier check will already be heeded by people watching,’ said Streeting