Danny Snodgrass

When Danny Snodgrass of Huntsville, Al., was diagnosed with throat cancer, he went online to research treatment options. On Mayo Clinic's web site, he read that he could be a candidate for laser surgery, an alternative to conventional surgery that results in preservation of tissue, shorter hospital stays and less speech impairment.

Snodgrass arrived in Rochester, Minn., for a meeting with Mayo Clinic doctors in December, hoping to be told his cancer diagnosis was wrong. And if he did require surgery, Snodgrass wanted to undergo the laser surgery he'd read about on the Internet.

At Mayo, he received startling news. His cancer was advanced and required immediate surgery. The only bright spot came when Eric Moore, M.D., an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, said Snodgrass was a candidate for transoral laser microsurgery, a surgery Mayo Clinic surgeons have performed hundreds of times at Mayo's three sites.

"When I was recovering from surgery, the doctors told me I was doing much better than normal," Snodgrass recalls of his Dec. 14 surgery. "I owe it all to them. I'm convinced the hands of God are on the Mayo Clinic. There's no doubt in my mind."

The first hint of future problems for Snodgrass came years earlier, when he started having trouble speaking. His local doctors attributed it to drainage issues but, finally, an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor ordered a biopsy. It came back positive.

Snodgrass had never smoked and drank alcohol only occasionally, so he was stunned to learn he had throat cancer. The tumor was located near his vocal chords and had spread into the lymph nodes of his neck by the time he was seen at Mayo.

Dr. Moore scheduled Snodgrass for transoral laser surgery after determining that the tumor could be reached with an endoscope through his mouth. During surgery, he also made small incisions in Snodgrass's neck to remove his tumor-ridden lymph nodes.

Snodgrass recovered well from surgery, returning weeks later for chemotherapy and radiation treatment to treat the cancerous lymph nodes. In July, he returned for a check-up and was found to have no signs of recurrent cancer.

Dr. Moore says Mayo's transoral laser surgery produces good results for many patients. In undergoing conventional throat surgery, they're apt to take longer to recover and may never regain normal speech and swallowing.

"One of the great things is Mayo has a high patient volume so we're able to select patients who are ideal for the laser procedure," Dr. Moore says. "A long history of surgical experience allows us to be more comfortable trying out new therapies."

Snodgrass says his team of exceptional caregivers — among them Dr. Moore, medical oncologist Donald Jurgens, M.D., radiation oncologist Nina Garces, M.D., radiation oncologist Nadia Laack, M.D., as well as scores of nurses — propelled him to a speedy recovery.

Dr. Laack's visit to Snodgrass after his surgery was memorable for the hope it leant him. She wore a necklace with a wooden cross, which Snodgrass found himself "zeroing in on. It meant so much to me, and to see her."

"I've never been so impressed with a group of people in my life," Snodgrass says of his caregivers. "It's one of the smartest decisions I've ever made is to go to Mayo Clinic. It's a thousand miles away, but if I ever get sick again I'll go back."

Today Snodgrass, 58, is back to his hobbies of camping and backpacking and enjoying time with his family, wife Barbara, three children and three grandchildren. He took little time off from his job as a civil service systems integrator for the Army, working from Rochester during his chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

He credits the prayers of family and friends and God for his health today. Going into surgery, Snodgrass says he felt a sense of peace in knowing that, whatever the outcome, his future was secure.

"In spite of everything, it turned out to be a positive experience," Snodgrass says. "Not only for the fantastic doctors and nurses I got to meet, but for the other patients I met too. The whole system at Mayo is set up to be supportive in nature."