Sir Chris Hoy's cancer openness boosts awareness, charity says

A prostate cancer charity has celebrated a significant increase in outreach, attributing this success to six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy's public disclosure of his terminal diagnosis.

Prostate Scotland expressed their gratitude towards the former cyclist for his candidness regarding the illness. Thanks to his openness, the organisation observed a considerable surge in website traffic over the past month.

The charity witnessed a 69% rise in new users visiting its website, amounting to 5,600 individuals, alongside "record spikes" in visits to particular pages. This includes an astonishing 255% growth in traffic to a page containing information on prostate cancer, and a 209% increase in use of their online symptom checker.

Additionally, the webpages for the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test information and the charity's homepage experienced more than a twofold increment in visits.

Alison Wright, the chief executive of Prostate Scotland, said: "Our mission as a charity is for more Scottish men to be aware of their prostate, understand the symptoms of prostate cancer and disease, get to their GP earlier, and receive treatment for what is a curable cancer in most men."

She added: "That’s why we want to say a huge thank you to Sir Chris. His openness to share his experience has enabled us to reach so many more men in just one month.

"We know men don’t always seek out mainstream health support and can ignore symptoms, and with no national screening programme for prostate cancer currently in place, it’s crucial we get the message out to more men: ‘Go to your GP and request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test from the age of 50, whether you have symptoms or not.'" The charity highlighted that nearly half of all men in Scotland will face prostate disease at some point, with one in ten at risk of developing prostate cancer. With a family history of the condition, as Sir Chris' diagnosis followed that of his father and grandfather, the organisation is calling on men to get tested early.

Sir Chris disclosed in October that he is battling terminal cancer. Prostate Scotland, established 18 years ago, offers information, advice, and support on prostate health issues to men and their families across Scotland.

For more details about the charity's work and resources, including an online symptom checker, visit prostatescotland.org.uk.