Andrew Appel beat cancer. Now the Philly orthodontist wants to help young cancer survivors get their smiles back.

Jason Stock is only 13, but he’s no pushover.

Diagnosed with leukemia at age 7, he amazed his family with his spirit and strength going through grueling treatment. When his cancer went into remission about three years ago, Jason grabbed onto life. He sang for the crowds at Phillies games. He did public speaking about being a cancer survivor, and he helped raise funds for other kids with cancer.

But there was one thing holding him back:

His smile.

“My teeth were always messed up,” the Langhorne middle schooler said. “I wanted braces so I could tell people my story with a big, bright smile.”

That smile is now in the works, thanks to a new initiative by a Philadelphia orthodontist who gets where Jason is coming from. If things go as he plans, lots of other kids like Jason will be getting their smiles back — and for a long time to come.

Andrew Appel, 37, a survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and an orthodontist in a family practice with his wife, Andrea, and his father, Steve, hopes to identify a new child or young adult each month, starting now, who is in remission from cancer to provide free braces and orthodontic care.

Jason is the first beneficiary.

Appel said he intends to do the give away indefinitely. He is focusing on blood cancer survivors since they are usually young people, but he said he is open to patients with other types of cancer.

Braces are costly — averaging around $5,000 to $6,000 — and the families of children who have received cancer treatment are often shouldering high medical bills, the orthodontist noted. But there is no income limit to qualify.

“I want them to know there is a place where they can receive this care,” Appel said.

His own experience with cancer helped shape his desire to embark on this project.

“I was supposed to be a young, healthy guy, and I have a great career. I’m only a few years out of becoming a doctor, and my body is failing me. And that feeling stuck with me,” he said. “It really had this way of zapping your confidence.”

What would prove not only life-affirming but also inspirational was a benefit concert Appel attended a couple years into his remission by indie rocker Andrew McMahon. At the event, Appel listened as McMahon, a leukemia survivor, invited others who had beat cancer to come up and share their stories. The experience got Appel thinking about what he could do with his profession to help fellow survivors.

Appel had known he wanted to be an orthodontist since he was 7 years old, and he wrote his name over his dad’s on his business cards. He knew that in his profession, he had the ability to help young patients get some of their own confidence back.

“To give somebody that amazing smile through braces is really a confidence builder, and it’s one of the most rewarding things about what I do.”

The regional chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) applauded the practice’s initiative and the difference it can make for young patients.

“The Eastern Pennsylvania — Delaware Region of LLS is so grateful for the partnership and generosity of Appel Orthodontics,” said Brook Patterson Rowe, the chapter’s campaigns development director.

Rowe said her organization is helping the Appels to get the word out to prospective patients who could benefit from the give away.

The Appels are keeping their application process pretty simple. To enter to be selected for the monthly giveaway, applicants should send an email to Appelorthodontics@gmail.com with “LLS entry” in the subject line. The email should include the child’s name and age, a summary of their cancer journey, and what having a new smile would mean to them.

Orthodontic treatment requires frequent office visits for 1 ½ to 2 years, and youngsters selected can opt to go to Appel Orthodontics in Northeast Philadelphia or one of the offices of Brace Busters, their sister practice, in South Philadelphia, Roxborough or Dresher.

In Jason’s application, he told about his three years of cancer treatment.

“It was hard!” the Langhorne boy wrote. “I had over 25 spinal taps, endless doctor visits, blood and platelet transfusions, and many surgeries and endless chemotherapies that made me sick. Smiling during this was extremely difficult.”

But he hung in there.

“He’s strong,” said his mom, Meagan Stock. “He amazed me during treatment, and he’s still amazing me. His outlook on life is just so beautiful, living every moment to the fullest.”

Although Jason was self-conscious about his smile and before he learned of the Appels’ braces program, he still got up and sang solo at Phillies games during Family Nights held by the Kisses for Kyle Foundation, a nonprofit that helps families of children with cancer.

In just the couple of months Jason has had his braces, they’ve already started to do their magic.

“You can actually start seeing my teeth when I smile,” he said.