\n<\/p>\n
Hoy has shrewdly taken on support for this difficult time in his life.<\/p>\n
Steve Peters is a man that Hoy knew could make a difference.<\/p>\n
The list of sportspeople that Peters has worked with – the public list he is happy to talk about on the record – is a high-profile ‘who’s who’ ranging from Steven Gerrard to Ronnie O’Sullivan.<\/p>\n
The donkeys in the front paddock of the psychiatrist’s countryside home bely that glitzy, glamourous list.<\/p>\n
But their tranquil nature make complete sense when you spend a few hours in the company of Peters and Hoy.<\/p>\n
Peters was Hoy’s first port of call throughout his career when it came to training and calming his mind to be at its peak in and around Olympic competition.<\/p>\n
He was also one of the first people Hoy called when he got his terminal diagnosis last year.<\/p>\n
At first Peters was part of the firefighting phase of what Hoy’s wife Sarra describes as a “deep grief” in the first few days post-diagnosis.<\/p>\n
But in time, with Peters’ help, Hoy set about finding a new purpose.<\/p>\n
Firstly, it is to raise awareness of the limitations of the current provision for prostate cancer in the UK. Both Hoy’s father and grandfather have had prostate cancer.<\/p>\n
Understandably, given an earlier diagnosis could have shifted his diagnosis from terminal to manageable, the 49-year-old Scot argues eloquently that a national screening programme should be made a priority for men from their 45th birthday onwards.<\/p>\n
But, crucially, his approach is also to show other people living with cancer that sport and exercise can still be a positive part of their lives, even through their treatment.<\/p>\n
Peters explains: “What Chris did when he was presented with this illness is he said: ‘Right, what’s the plan?’ After we worked through the initial stages of the shock and grief of it, then he came out the other side and he picked up on the purpose.<\/p>\n
“And that was to reach other people. It became a mission for him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n