UPDATE: Hi all, Morgan here coming to you from Germany with an update on Phills battle with cancer. I am happy to announce that I have wonderful news!

Here is the quick overview:

We met with Professor Baum on Monday to review the results of the FAPi PET scans and he is quite confident that Phills cancer will respond substantially to the treatment.

Phill did his first round of treatment in which they gave him a double dose of the radioactive isotope (Litetium-117) due to how far his cancer had already progressed.

Phill had no serious reactions to the IV Radiation treatment (even though they doubled the dose) and is resting now back at the hotel, but this ended up almost doubling the cost of the treatment.

Professor Baum reviewed his case with us during the discharge consultation, and he was very optimistic because all tests indicate the Phills organs are all still functioning properly, and it appears that the treatment is being absorbed by the tumors which is required for success of the treatment.

His next treatment is scheduled for early October when they will do another FAPi PET so they can analyze the results of the first treatment. Assuming that the treatments is as effective as they expect it to be he will do his second round of treatment that same week in early October.

At this point we are cautiously optimistic that this treatment could put the cancer into remission!

Thank you to everyone that has made Phill’s journey possible. I don’t have words for how appreciative he and our family is for everyone’s thoughts, prayers and financial support! More to come after the October trip.

Phill has been in correspondence with the doctors in Germany and has his first appointment scheduled for August 24th. After talking with the doctors he learned that he is going to have to repeat this treatment 4 separate times every 6-8 weeks. That is why we have increased our goal to 150k, since each trip he will make to get treatment will cost a minimum 25k in fees just for the treatments alone. We would also like to thank each and every person that has shared, contributed and sent kind messages. We are absolutely blown away at all of your generosity. Thank you again! We will continue to give updates as things progress! :)

Our journey this past year has been a time of heartache, waiting and hoping for a miracle. Our story is about Phill Hirschenberger who is an incredible husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. Phill lives in Missoula, MT with his family and has spent much of his career self-employed operating his company PH Engineering. He is the husband of Daridee (Moodry) Hirschenberger of Anaconda and father of 3 beautiful children; Beau 4, Holland 7 and Taylor 19.

At age 44, Phill and our family’s world was shaken by the devastating news that a tumor we understood to be benign, and could be surgically removed, turned out to be a rare type of pancreatic cancer. Phill was diagnosed in April 2025 with pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma, which is not only a rare type of pancreatic cancer but also has minimal historical data for treatment in the medical world. After learning about this diagnosis, we’ve all been optimistic in finding a successful treatment. However, in the U.S. there are not a lot of options remaining that are anticipated to provide effective treatment for this type of cancer.

Phill's stubbornness, strong will to live, and love for his family keeps him fighting. Phill has been through an incredibly heart wrenching journey of fighting every day to keep going. He has gone to the best Cancer treatment centers in the United States. His journey started out at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, then MD Anderson Cancer Center of Texas, being treated with high doses of chemotherapy, while also seeking some alternative therapy with Natural Health and Wellness in Missoula. Phill has received a great deal of help and support from his family and friends during this very challenging process. They’ve sent him lots of prayers, clinical referrals, and treatment suggestions, all of which he’s followed up with (Cleveland Clinic, Dartmouth Cancer Center, NCI and NIA to mention a few) and most recently Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN. Phill had heard about a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic who performs surgeries on tumors that have impeded on nearby blood vessels; we thought this was our miracle. Unfortunately, we were too late for this surgery to happen. He spent over a week at the clinic getting even more scans, gene testing, procedures and surgery to place a stent over major blood vessels to help get blood flow to his organs and alleviate pain. The tumor has caused several kinks and blockages in and around the area of the tumor. He’s had in depth screening and biopsies to determine the specific gene mutation responsible for the tumor, in which case there may be a treatment that could target the mutation identified.

Recently, Phill received news that he qualified to receive a new treatment from a Doctor in Germany. A family friend from Anaconda informed Phill he had been helped by this certain Doctor in Germany. He told Phill that this treatment had stopped the growth of all his tumors. It is a different approach that is not available in the U.S., so here we are!

The issue is it’s NOT covered by insurance, and the cost is on the upwards side of $50k. He’s asking for any help to cover this cost to receive this treatment and travel expenses. He is not someone to share his health details, or ask for help, but at this time we feel it’s our only hope for him. If you can help contribute it would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! Every cent will make a difference.

We are praying to the good Lord above for this miracle to happen and for Phill to be here to watch his children grow. His family needs him, his children need their daddy, and we are in desperate need of any help that you can give. Truly, there are no words to express the heartache of this trial, but we have had many incredible family and friends carry us through. We are so thankful to all of you who can help us in this hard season of life.

Much Love,

Daridee Hirschenberger

I will continue to post and give updates on his journey. Again, thank you for all the prayers, referrals and money contributions!!