Dad Back to Racing After Kidney Transplant, Battle with Cancer PKG

CLEVELAND - As a racecar driver, Jordan Bupp knows the importance of staying laser focused, especially when pushing speeds of more than 185 miles per hour. 

“There has never been a more peaceful and calm place in the whole world than when I am strapped into a racecar, my helmet on. I am completely in control,” said Jordan.

But in 2013, he had to shift his attention from the track to his health. 

“I started feeling super nauseous and just really something wasn’t right,” he said

Jordan found out he was in renal failure and had to get a kidney transplant.

“That time in my life was extremely difficult because of my age, being so young. It was hard to relate with anybody. But more importantly to me, it made racing much more challenging,” he recalled.

Fortunately, there was someone on his care team who could relate.

“I met Jordan at the track with his father. They used to race quite a bit, and I raced at that time as well,” said Kevin Stadtlander, MD, interventional radiologist at Cleveland Clinic.

He made sure Jordan was still able to race, even after he developed lymphoma following his transplant.

“At that time, we had to place a port in the chest wall, and so we were very mindful of where the race car belts and safety harnesses would go,” said Dr. Stadtlander.

The now 38-year-old is cancer-free, happily married, and a proud father of two. 

“Being a dad is probably one of the most amazing things I have done with my life,” he said with a smile.