The six-time Olympic cycling champion said he is “so grateful to everyone for their incredible kindness and support” in his first message since revealing that his prostate cancer is now in stage 4.
Sir Chris sent a note on Instagram that read, “It is not the news anyone imagines hearing, and it obviously came as a huge shock.”
A “deep resolve to turn this incredibly difficult diagnosis into something more positive” is what he stated after he and his family had taken some time to contemplate the news.
Following Sir Chris’ admission on Sunday that he was informed he had “two to four years” to live last year, a number of celebrities from the entertainment and sports industries expressed their support for him.
David Beckham advised him to “stay strong” and “keep smiling,” while another cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish referred to him as a “hero of a human being.”
According to the charity Macmillan Cancer Support, his statement also caused the largest spike in online searches for the illness since the royal family’s diagnoses earlier this week.
