Tifft also added that two different sets of doctors confirmed that he would not have to undergo any additional treatment for the tumor, such as chemotherapy or other chemical-related processes.
“We had two sets of doctors from Duke and UCSF come back and tell us that as far as treatment for this tumor, they actually felt like since it was a slow growing, low grade tumor that I actually will not have undergo any treatment and that was the best news out of all of this,” he explained. “They feel like if we can do MRI monitoring about every eight weeks, at least for a while and then they’ll back it down to months and slow it down from there, but just keep an eye on it since it’s something that can grow back, just the nature of the genetics of this tumor, but obviously that’s a huge step that I didn’t have to undergo any treatment.”
In a surprising twist, the young rising star explained that the biggest change he experienced during the early stages of his recovery process was the return of his sense of smell, which he said had diminished years ago.
“One of the most shocking things to me was that apparently with a brain tumor one of the biggest symptoms is your loss of smell,” Tifft said. “I came down the stairs I think the Monday after I had surgery and my Mom was washing something with Murphy’s oil — I guess I couldn’t smell things for years … and it just made me nauseous. All of the sudden I started smelling everything and I was like, ‘I can’t believe this.’ My sense of smell is back incredibly so that’s cool.”
There is still no timetable for Tifft’s return to NASCAR national series competition, but the 20-year-old Ohio native was gracious in thanking everyone involved in his career for understanding the situation and working with him through the process.
“I just really want to thank everybody from Joe Gibbs Racing and Red Horse Racing for working with me and Steve DeSouza (JGR) and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and all those guys over there,” Tifft said. “I can’t tell you how great they’ve been in the whole process and understanding everything and everybody that’s filled in as well from Sam Hornish Jr. and Owen Kelly to Dakoda Armstrong and Kyle (Busch), it’s not easy when you have something like this to work out the logistics of it. Those guys have been great in working with us and our partners – we’ve got some great partners and some really cool companies who have worked with us through this whole process and have been willing to work with other drivers coming in the seat.”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: [email protected]
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