Engineer Beats Stage III Throat Cancer at MD Anderson

When Walt Appel received his stage III laryngeal cancer diagnosis in December 2023, he braced himself for the worst. His local oncologist warned him he'd need a feeding tube just to survive treatment.

But his medical team at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston had different ideas. They saw possibilities where others saw limitations.

Appel's tumor sat in a tricky spot called the aryepiglottic fold, and cancer had already spread to a lymph node in his neck. Surgery risked permanent damage to his ability to swallow, so his surgical oncologist Dr. Neil Gross recommended six weeks of chemoradiation instead.

The surprises kept coming. Radiation oncologist Dr. Jack Phan told him the feeding tube his local doctor insisted on wasn't actually necessary at all. Medical oncologist Dr. Renata Ferrarotto shared that his chemotherapy drug wouldn't cause hair loss.

Appel managed his treatment side effects with medication for nausea and throat pain, plus skin creams for irritation. Within three weeks of starting treatment, scans showed his tumors shrinking noticeably.

Four months after finishing treatment, he got the words every cancer patient dreams of hearing: cancer-free. Dr. Phan later declared his larynx "pristine," saying it looked as if nothing had ever happened there.

Why This Inspires

As a retired electrical engineer who once worked briefly as a nurse, Appel recognized something special about MD Anderson's staff. He noticed many weren't just collecting paychecks or even just helping people.

They were on a mission that felt deeply personal. Whether they'd battled cancer themselves or watched someone they loved fight it, their exposure to what's possible at MD Anderson shaped their entire career paths.

"Each one of them is a brilliant, world-class cancer expert, yet they are not intimidating," Appel says. "They are warm, caring, approachable human beings who speak to you in plain English."

Now Appel calls his care team heroes. From his home in Austin, he carries forward the gift they gave him: not just survival, but a voice to tell his story.