'This is my legacy' – Young mum with terminal brain tumour inspired by cycling legend Chris Hoy to campaign for change

Kim Borthwick, a 36-year-old mother of four young children, received a devastating diagnosis of terminal brain cancer in January. The news came after she experienced severe headaches that she initially attributed to exhaustion following the holiday season. Her husband, Sir Chris Hoy, a six-time Olympic cycling champion, had recently shared his own battle with stage four prostate cancer, which had taken the lives of his grandfather.

Borthwick found inspiration in Sir Chris Hoy's documentary Cancer Courage and Me, which detailed his journey through diagnosis and advocacy. She also discovered a children's book about Hoy titled Little People, Big Dreams. Following her diagnosis, her mother gifted her twins Max and Freddie replica Olympic gold medals as a tribute to her. Borthwick met Hoy in person and joined his charity cycling event, the Tour de 4, where her team rode in her honor despite her inability to participate physically due to her illness.

Borthwick is now committed to advocating for change in brain cancer treatment and awareness. She believes that while standard treatments like surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have remained unchanged for decades, new approaches and better access to whole-genome sequencing could save lives. In 2024, when Hoy himself faced a terminal diagnosis, he called for routine prostate cancer screening to begin at a younger age, a cause that Borthwick now advocates for in the realm of brain cancer.