Cancer Rehab Helps Young Dad Fight Head and Neck Cancer

It was a beautiful day in May 2020 when William Pettit, then 39, first noticed the lump on his neck. “I didn’t think much of it,” recalled William, a former college football player and active father of two energetic children.

“I noticed I had a tougher time than usual completing a 60-mile bike ride that day, which is usually pretty easy for me," he said. "But it was a passing thought.” William didn’t tell anyone about the lump.

By August 2020, the lump hadn’t grown, but it hadn’t gone away. William finally mentioned it to his wife Mary Jo, who made an appointment for her husband with her primary care doctor, Stephanie Haupt, MD, at Meritas Health Gashland. “I cancelled and rescheduled the appointment three times before going in. I felt I was too busy, and I didn’t want it to be a drawn-out process.”

During the first appointment, Dr. Haupt ordered a CT scan for later that day. A few days later, as William settled in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs home opener, the phone rang. William learned he had Stage 4 head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinoma.

“I was told I had six to nine months to live,” William said. “I was also told surgery wasn’t an option, that I wouldn’t survive.”

William and Mary Jo knew that was not the ending to their story. They decided to move forward with the surgery despite the risk. “I told the surgeon I was ready to die trying,” he said.

Lifesaving Choices

William underwent a 10-hour surgery during which surgeons removed 38 lymph nodes. “I basically had cancer from under my ear all the way to my chest,” William said.

During recovery, he had a stroke that left him temporarily paralyzed on his right side. After surgery, he could barely walk, talk or swallow. “Just three months before I ran a marathon,” William recalled.

“The doctors wanted me to go to a nursing home to recover, but I knew it was not my time.” With the help of his nurses, William practiced walking and building the skills he needed to prove he could recover safely at home. His determination paid off, and when he was released from this hospital, he was allowed to go home.

Surgery alone couldn’t remove all of the cancer. William still had two tumors. Under the supervision of Radiation Oncologist Ajay Tejwani, MD, and Oncologist Venkatadri Beeki, MD, both with The University of Kansas Cancer Center on the NKCH campus, William underwent seven weeks of chemotherapy and 35 radiation sessions.

“I told Dr. Tejwani I wanted to be active and have the quality of life I had before cancer,” William said. Dr. Tejwani recommended William start therapy while he was going through treatment to help him maintain his quality of life.

Usually, patients with cancer are referred to NKCH’s cancer rehabilitation program after they finish their treatment. The program offers rehabilitative therapy along with social services and nutrition counseling. It helps people with cancer regain their physical and emotional wellbeing. In William's case the early referral was extremely beneficial.

“Because he was referred early, we got to follow him through his entire course of treatment,” said Brenda Ruhnke, OTR/L, CHT, CLT, William’s occupational therapist. “As new symptoms or side effects appeared, we were there to help him through those immediately.”

Cancer Rehab Champion

For the next year, William had a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy as the need occurred. “I was so sick when I started,” William said. “I couldn’t swallow. I had so many nerves cut out of my shoulder, plus the paralysis, that I couldn’t raise my arm above my shoulder.”

“When we first started working with William, he was really disappointed in his level of activity,” Brenda said. “He couldn’t work like he used to, keep up with his kids when they played outside, or throw a ball to his son.”

William’s therapy team worked with him to rebuild his strength and endurance. Today, he’s back to working almost full time again. He helps his kids play sports and plays outside with them. He goes to the lake and does all the things he loves.

“William’s early referral early to the program, combined with his commitment to the therapy work, were significant factors in his rehab success,” Brenda said.

“I actually couldn’t wait to go to therapy,” William said. “My therapists were always positive and went above and beyond. My wife and I had a lot of questions, and the therapists were always willing to listen and answer them. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I had waited until all my treatments were finished to begin therapy.”