First Minister meets Sir Chris Hoy to discuss prostate cancer testing
The champion cyclist was diagnosed with the disease last year before finding out it was terminal.
He spoke to the First Minister – along with Health Secretary Neil Gray – in a roundtable at Mr Swinney's official residence Bute House in Edinburgh on Friday, along with his wife Lady Sarra Hoy and others who have experience of living with prostate cancer.
The Olympic gold medallist has swapped the track for activism since his diagnosis was made public, pushing both the UK and Scottish governments to do more to fight the disease, and raising awareness among men of the signs of the condition.
Earlier this year, Sir Chris urged ministers to change NHS guidance on the testing for prostate cancer.
Currently, men over the age of 50 are considered to be at the highest risk, with the health service urging them to get tested.
But Sir Chris has called for GPs to proactively contact men known to be at higher risk – for instance, due to a family history of prostate cancer – earlier to offer a test.
'I was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer at 47. By this age, my prostate cancer was advanced and could have been progressing from when I was 45 or even younger,' he said.
'With prostate cancer, the earlier you find it, the easier it is to treat. We need the system to change to enable more men to get diagnosed earlier and stop them getting the news I got.'
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