The three-time All-American, in an exclusive interview with ESPN.com, revealed for the first time publicly that he played his senior season at Tennessee after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from one of his testicles in March 2007.

He was diagnosed with cancer only a few days after Tennessee ended its 2006-07 season with a Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State in San Antonio. Miraculously, the cancer was discovered after Lofton was picked randomly following the first-round win over Long Beach State to submit to an NCAA-mandated drug test. The results turned up positive, and Tennessee officials weren’t notified until the day of the Ohio State game.

Amazingly, Lofton went through the entire ordeal — the surgery, radiation treatments, recovery and excruciating emotional distress — with very few people knowing.

It’s the way he wanted it. An intensely private person, he internalized everything and was hell-bent on nobody being able to make excuses for him.

“That’s just the way he is: a no-excuses kind of fella,” said Lofton’s father, Franklin. “The worst part for us was not being down there with him and everything he was going through, but that’s the way Chris wanted it. He knew if we were down there in Knoxville all the time, people would be asking questions.”