Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy has expressed his profound disappointment after UK health advisors recommended against making prostate cancer screening routinely available for most men.
A Personal and Public Disappointment
The 49-year-old sporting icon, who revealed in 2024 that his prostate cancer had spread to his bones and he had been given between two and four years to live, described feeling "extremely disappointed and saddened" by the decision from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC).
The committee concluded that population screening using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test "is likely to cause more harm than good." Instead, it is putting forward a draft recommendation to screen only men with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, who are at far higher risk, every two years between the ages of 45 and 61.
Sir Chris acknowledged this was "a very small step forward" but insisted it is "not enough." He highlighted that more than 12,000 men die from prostate cancer every year, making it the most common cancer in men in the UK.
High-Risk Groups and Calls for Change
The cyclist emphasised the heightened risk for specific groups, noting that black men face double the risk of developing prostate cancer, as do men with a family history of the disease, like himself.
He is not alone in his criticism. 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst told the Press Association that testing should be "mandatory" for all men over 45. He stated, "I have known many people to suffer with prostate cancer and, given correct testing and early enough testing, they could've been furnished with a much better outcome."
Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, who underwent successful treatment for prostate cancer in 2022, added his voice, saying, "I think many men suffer from prostate cancer, that should be a reason to at least institute a screening test."
Campaigning for Awareness and Early Detection
Sir Chris Hoy is determined to continue his advocacy work. "I know first hand that by sharing my story following my own diagnosis two years ago, many, many lives have been saved," he said. "Early screening and diagnosis saves lives."
He vowed to use his platform to raise awareness, encourage open discussion, and campaign for change. Former England striker Les Ferdinand, whose grandfather died of the disease, echoed this sentiment, stressing that without a national screening programme, the burden of early detection falls unfairly on men themselves, particularly impacting black men who are twice as likely to die from the cancer.
Experts are now looking to a large trial launched by Prostate Cancer UK last week, which will investigate whether combining the PSA test with other methods could eventually lead to a recommendation for population-wide screening in the future.
