The Latest…

Some prayer requests…

• hand foot syndrome from chemo is healing up a bit!

• nausea and bone/liver pain continues

• a new round of chemo starts 8/4

• bone medicine injection on 8/4

• leave for France on 8/8!!!!

As previously mentioned, Julie is going on a trip to France with Mic, her brother Neal and his wife Kim! Take off is on the 8th. If you’d like to tag along on the adventure, check out Julie’s instagram stories at julieannehirtzel.

Update

Hi All,

It feels weird to have a website.  I’m usually hiding in a corner, not the center of attention. But here I am. Smack dab in the middle. 

I’ve heard from so many of you regarding the day of prayer and fasting as well as encouraging me regarding what I wrote in the last post about my childhood.  Thank you. It is humbling to have so many people supporting me in so many ways. A few of you have been asking if there is anything to report.  So here’s the latest…

Medically speaking, I have a few updates. My pain has increased and I have upped my medications, yet sometimes I don’t get in front of the pain.  When I do get the timing right, I have pretty good days.

I am now experiencing Hand Foot Syndrome which is induced by some chemo meds. I have about five small sores, which could end up covering my feet.  I’m doing everything I can to keep that from happening!  

I mentioned a big trip and some of you have asked about it, so let me tell you the plan. My brother Neal, his wife Kim, my husband Mic and I are going to France on August 9!   I’m a little worried about how I can handle everything, but I’m going to try! Neal used a TON of points to get me a lay-down, AKA first class, seat! We have also rented a camper van, so I can rest when I need to. We aren’t sleeping in it, but instead have Airbnbs along the way. Our first four nights are in Paris without the van, of course! Usually I walk a ton on trips, but this time I’m thinking that rental bikes and taxis will be helpful. After Paris we have four nights in the French Alps and finally, two nights on the southern coast at which time Mic and I will fly home.  The Drinkwards will stay a few more days on their own. I’m really looking forward to this time with my family in such a beautiful place!

Love, Julie

Update & A Long Story

Hi Friends!

I want you to know that my mouth sores have healed, my blood pressure is up (thankfully!) due to medication and I have figured out my pain medication so that it alleviates much of the pain. I’m feeling much better this week! It even looks like I’ll be going on a big trip in a few weeks!

I am thankful that so many of you participated in the prayer and fasting and are continually upholding us in prayer.

In regards to the Christian themes on this blog, I would like to tell the story of how I came to faith.

Growing up in South Redondo was magical. A perfect mix of beautiful surroundings, loving families and fun activities. My family consisted of my mom, my dad, my brother and me. Like many people have experienced, the idyllic surroundings didn’t make our family life idyllic. We had many serious illnesses in the house and also some angst coming from these trials. I did not grow up going to church, but was always drawn to Christianity and also other belief systems. I was born with a philosophical bent. Among the myriad of illnesses, my mom got breast cancer when I was in 5th grade. After she finished her surgery and treatments, other illnesses crept in for her and for my dad. During this time my brother and I also lost most of our grandparents, many aunts and uncles and even two cousins to various illnesses and tragedies. I don’t write this for pity or to insinuate I had the hardest life ever. I’m just saying it to lay the foundation to tell you how sad and lost I felt from 5th grade through college.

My mom was facing her own battles. She hung to life with desperation. She wanted healing. We were trained in Transcedental Meditation, went to psychics, tried various healing religions and sought extreme homeopathic healings. When I was 16 and my mom was 52, her cancer returned and was metastatic. Our neighbor invited her to church. She got very involved for a year and the change I saw in her ministered to me greatly. I remember her telling me that God could heal her body, but if He didn’t, she was at peace because her soul had been healed. The change in her was amazing. I already thought she was absolutely wonderful (she was my everything), but she made amends with anyone she needed to ask forgiveness from. She had new life from her belief in Jesus. She had a Savior and didn’t need to save herself.

On my 17th birthday, my mom went into the hospital for the last time. This hospital was a few blocks from Redondo High, so every day after school I walked over to the hospital and spent a few hours with her until my dad would arrive after he finished work. She asked me to read the Book of Matthew to her. Wow! We were awestruck by what is was saying, both of us truly believing what I was reading. I vividly remember talking about the portion that says that hating someone in your heart is the sin of murder. We were like, uh oh.

My current pastor was a substitute teacher and coach at Redondo. Each day he invited pretty much the whole school to a Bible Study starting Monday, June 6. We thought, ok, ok… we heard you. Early in the morning, on Monday, June 6, my mom went to be with her Savior. It was a relief to see her leave her body of pain. But I was broken. Half of me was gone. As I thought at the time, my god was dead. It was at this moment that God drew me to Him… a God that will never die, that is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. My journey of grief was long and difficult, but believing that my Heavenly Father, My Shepherd was with me in the shadow of death comforted me then as it does now.

I have been a Christian since this time. Enjoying reading about all beliefs and philosophies as well as loving the diverse writings of Sartre, Descartes, Rand, Augustine and others, you can imagine that I am tempted to stray. In my thinking though, my faith is real and indescribable. The Word of God is the only thing I hold to as absolute truth. (Obviously, I am trying to write this in a nutshell, which is impossible!). I love that the Christian faith is about God saving us and not by us saving ourselves through working hard to be good enough.

I’m really going out on a limb (for me) writing all this. I’m often quiet about my beliefs, yet today I thought I would like to share my story. I made it as brief as I could! There’s so much more to say about the faithfulness of God in my life.

Lately I’ve been writing things down as I think of them. I’ll close with something I wrote last month.

What I hope for all my loved ones: That they would know Jesus as their Savior, as the one who brings peace to their souls. Before I knew my savior, I was lost, and then I was found. I was alone, and then I was comforted. True, I have spent a lot of life contemplating the reason for existence and it’s seeming meaninglessness, but that is not to say that I do not trust God in His infinite wisdom. Trusting in his omniscient wisdom brings a peace that our own ponderings cannot and never will bring, because, as I have always said to my kids, our finite brains would explode if we understood everything about an omniscient God.

With love, Julie

Molecular Biopsy Results

Yesterday we found out that Julie is a great candidate for Endocrine therapy and that Immunotherapy is not an option. She will still continue on 4-6 more rounds of chemo before potentially switching to Endocrine. Endocrine therapy is supposed to be a less-harsh long term treatment so this is good news.

James 5:13-16

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

‭‭James‬ ‭5:13-16‬ ‭

God’s Healing

In most Christian minds today, the words Nineveh and Ninevite are usually associated with ideas like God's judgment, God's enemies, a wicked people, and a recalcitrant nation. But have you ever thought after reading Jonah 3 that God plucked a generation of Ninevites out of Satan's kingdom and placed them in his own? This is what Jesus indicates in Matthew 12:41. 

What made this generation in Ninevah different than all the others? They came to know God in the preaching of the word, and they repented. I have a friend that likes to say, "God does what he does because he is who he is," God is the one who saves and pours out every blessing, mercy, and grace because of His perfect love shown in Christ. However, so often, this love is brought about through human means to accomplish his heavenly purposes. For Ninevah, God used repentance-filled fasting and prayer to accomplish the great work of saving these sinners.

This Friday's fast is about humbling ourselves before God, like the Ninevites of Jonah's day and so many Christians have over the past few millennia. We turn to God, knowing that we are utterly unable to beat this cancer or pass through any other affliction in our strength. Ultimately, only God heals, sometimes naturally and sometimes supernaturally, but He does the healing. We are praying that He might deal well with my mother in her affliction, which we should only expect if we turn to Him in the worthy name of Jesus—the majestic King of the universe. 

Check out our last post if you want details about our day of fasting and prayer this Friday.

Yours in the lord,

Eli (Julie’s son)

Pain, treatment and medication

Thankfully Julie’s burns in her throat from the neck radiation are almost completely healed. She had about two weeks of very little eating and a constant, high level of pain.

She was also experiencing bouts of low and extremely low blood pressure. It was a little scary and also making her not want to do anything. She got medication to bring it up a bit, so she’s feeling a bit more energetic. We have had some fun times hanging out as a family recently that we are so thankful for.

Her main physical issues right now are liver pain and bone pain. Both are partially controlled by pain medications.

She finished her first round of oral chemo and will continue on a two-weeks-on-one-week-off cycle. No news yet as to exactly how long the chemo rounds will go on. Later this week she will get a molecular report from her biopsy that may open more treatment options. Please pray for positive results.

Now that things are in a bit of a rhythm, we will probably only post less frequently unless something changes, but feel free to text Julie or any of our family. We all appreciate your notes and messages.

My mom chose this verse to share:

The Lord is my strength and my shield. In Him my heart trusts and I am helped. Psalms 28:7

Day of Fasting This Friday

Dear friends and family, 

Some of us will participate in a day of fasting and prayer for Julie on Friday, July 16th. If you would like to join, we welcome you. 

Some of you might be wondering why anyone would fast or how this could be helpful. Fasting and prayer are important Christian practices and commands of our Lord (Matt 6:16) that we find numerous times throughout the Bible. Fasting in the Bible always aids prayer. Many might think that Christian prayer is just vain words lost in the air, yet, the Bible teaches that all who lay hold of Jesus Christ by faith are made children of God who loves to bless His own (Luke 11). Prayer is not a magical practice that bends God's will to ours. Rather, prayer conforms our will to God's— loving what he loves, hating what he hates, and seeking His glory in all things. And, at the same time, God uses the prayers of his saints in mighty ways. Prayer aided by fasting helps us order our life priorities rightly. In Julie's situation, it reminds us that every one of us has a deathday as sure as we have a birthday. Julie will die on the day God appoints, not the day the doctors appoint; the same is true for every one of us. Because God holds all things in His hands, we seek His face in every affliction.

Fasting aids our prayer. Fasting expresses our sorrow, expresses our inherent weakness as humans, and expresses our utter need for the God that gives and takes away. Few acts like fasting will teach us how dependent we are upon the God who supplies us all that we have! It also reminds us to pray; every ache of the belly reminds us of our aching souls.

In the Bible, we find national fasts (Jonah 3), communal fasts (Acts 14), and private fasts following our savior's example (Matt 4). In this fast, we will seek God's face as a corporate covenantal community brought together as blood-washed saints of the Lord; this is why our first prayer is thanksgiving to God for His saving work in the life of Julie. A Christian is to feel the pain of others in their corporate covenantal community like they feel the pain in their own body. For this reason, we fast for July. Her affliction is ours in Jesus Christ. Please join us in humbling ourselves before the God who is worthy to be praised.

We will be fasting for one day on Friday July 16th. If you choose to participate, you can arrange the day according to your schedule. Here are a few basic guidelines: (1) Fasting is the act of denying oneself food for a time (not social media, video games, surfing, or coffee, but food).  Biblical fasting is always for seeking God in prayer, asking that he might have mercy on us. However, fast wisely. If you are older or have little constitution, have a smoothy mid-day. Make sure to drink water. It can be helpful to add salt and lemon juice to your water to maintain proper electrolyte levels. However you choose to fast, don't risk your own health in the process. (2) Pray in large gulps and small sips; we recommend spending a few half-hour periods in prayer and countless short five-second prayers throughout the day. Find a prayer partner to help you through this labor of supplication. (3) Have focused prayers. We will be praying in the morning, midday, and evening using the below topics as an outline:

1. Praise God for Julie's faith in the resurrected Lord

2. Pray for Julie's spirit throughout the process

3. Pray for bodily healing through the Great Physician's work in the various treatments or miraculous healing

4. Pray for the spiritual well being of the family

5. Pray that God will use this affliction to bring sinners to the savior

6. However this year unfolds, pray that Christ will receive all the glory

May God bless us all as we draw near to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Eli Hirtzel (Julie’s son) and Marisa (Julie’s daughter)

A Note from Julie

Hi! It’s Julie here. I am overwhelmed with love and support. Thank you does not seem sufficient.

I’ve been on chemo a little more than a week. It’s going pretty well. I had neck radiation a few weeks ago that has caused a delayed burn in my throat and on my tongue. It’s fairly painful and prayers are appreciated.

I saw a liver specialist who had some things to offer as far as additional therapy in the future that we will look into more. For now my treatment plan is established, however when some molecular testing comes back the plan could change a bit.

I am no longer working. I am now a full time job. (That’s a joke.) I try to go out everyday for a bit and am hoping I will be able to do more in the next few weeks when my throat heals and the chemo hopefully starts shrinking some of the painful tumors.

This whole thing is really hard, but I believe in the biblical principles that teach that our suffering refines us and is not in vain. Yet, it is still suffering and therefore painful and difficult. I am trusting in the Lord’s providence for me though it is painful. I am thankful I have so many walking beside me.

Chemo Update

Julie was able to start chemotherapy yesterday late afternoon. She will take three pills in the morning and three at night for two weeks and then get a week off. This cycle will likely repeat a few times. Please pray that the chemo would be effective in decreasing the tumors, alleviating pain, and that Julie would experience a minimal reduction in her quality of life. Please pray that Julie would continue to experience a peace that surpasses understanding. Pray that her family and friends might experience that too.

As previously mentioned, this chemotherapy has a tumor reduction success rate of about 60%. But we don’t put our trust in numbers or stats. They are helpful pieces of information, but ultimately we place our trust in the Lord.

We know that we can trust in Him for all things, that He is our refuge, our hope, and peace. We know that when we cry out to Him in our grief over this sickness, He hears every one of our cries and keeps record of them (Psalm 56:8).

Treatment update

Due to a change seen in a recent blood test along with pain in the liver, the doctor said this morning that she would now recommend chemo instead of the endocrine therapy. Chemo has more side effects, but works more quickly than the endocrine therapy. Speed is a concern due to the extensive involvement in the liver. The chemo will be in pill form, taken morning and evening with two weeks on and one week off. The main side effects are nausea and fatigue with no hair loss. There will be several cycles like this. Please pray that the cancer responds to the chemo, which it does approximately 60% of the time.

Update

Thursday and Friday were long days with a biopsy, radiation treatments to the neck, an MRI and doctors’ appointments. We found out that treatment (besides the radiation that already started) will start early next week and will primarily consist of endocrine therapy with no chemotherapy at this time. This therapy has side effects but they are minimal. The treatment is for extension of life and not for a cure. The various endocrine therapies (and maybe chemo at some point) are expected to work for an unspecified amount of time (months to several years) and then the cancer will grow resistant and there will likely be no more treatment options.

Julie woke up with considerable neck pain this morning due to radiation, but now has it under control. She still has much peace in her sadness. She also is thankful for great insurance, a comfortable home, an amazing family, supportive friends, a great church and much more.

Some Good News and Updates

Julie got her brain MRI results today and it was clear of brain cancer. There is cancer in the skull, but the doctor said there is not a risk of it spreading to the brain. Brain cancer not only has negative impacts on cognitive function but requires a totally different set of treatments. Having brain treatment and treatment for the other areas would be very intense and complicated. Still not the situation we want to be in, but some good news!

The doctor also confirmed that the rest of her cancer is metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the liver, chest, lymph nodes, and multiple regions of bone.

Julie had her first radiation treatment today in the C2 vertebrae. Radiation is typically painless and only takes 15 minutes each session, so not much to report yet. The radiologist will monitor the effectiveness and continue treatment for another 4-9 days.

Next, Julie will continue radiation every weekday and has an oncology appointment with Dr. Prager to discuss treatment options on Friday as well as some other tests on Friday.

Our family has been having friendly fights about who gets to drive Julie to her appointments. There is no need for any other drivers just yet, but we will let you know if the need arises to those of you who have offered.

Please continue to pray for wisdom from the doctors as they offer guidance, that the treatment would be effective and that Julie would be comfortable.

A Note of Thanks from Julie

I want everyone to know that I truly appreciate the outpouring of love and concern for me and my family. I slept great last night and have minimal pain this morning! I have today free from appointments, so I’m going to watch Meg surf this morning and then I’m going to relax with my family. I’m feeling very fancy with my personal drivers, house cleaner, chefs, personal assistants, a new fluffy robe and this blog! I am beyond blessed. Although I am grieving, I have peace, which can only be coming from my Lord, the giver of peace that passes understanding.

Evening Update

Thank you so much for praying for Julie’s various appointments today. She got back home late afternoon and rested.

She didn’t end up seeing any doctors today; she met with technicians. No information on her pain, it comes and goes. Please pray for continued pain management.

Her first radiation appointment is scheduled for Wednesday. And she meets with the breast oncologist on Thursday. On Friday she will have follow up appointments with City of Hope and Cedars Sinai, where Lord willing the doctors will be able to review some of the results of the liver biopsy. Please pray that the doctors might have access to some of the results of the liver biopsy by Friday and that a treatment plan can be formed.

Until then, we wait. We wait and rest in the Lord, knowing that He hears each of our cries of grief and sorrow to Him (Psalm 56:8). We also rest in the hope we have in Christ. Hope in the present through the power of the Holy Spirit and His mighty Word and our future hope—we are clinging to Christ and His promises as we wait.

New Pain

As of early this morning, Julie has been experiencing a new and very severe pain. Thankfully she is at her doctors appointments all day today and we are hoping that they can provide insight to what the pain is. Please pray that the pain subsides and that the doctors can locate the issue accurately.

Unexpected Update in Treatment Plan

The radiation oncologist called Friday and said he wants to start radiation on Monday on the C2 vertebrae to preserve the integrity of the bone to prevent a fracture. It will be a course of 5-10 consecutive days. On Monday, Julie will have a brain MRI, radiation and the liver biopsy.

Update on Apointments

The bloodwork, brain scan and biopsy appointments all got moved to sooner dates. The biopsy is now on Monday. These are all critical to understanding treatment options. We should have the results in the next few weeks. Praise the Lord.

Photo by Julie

PET Results and More Prayer Requests

Today Julie had a PET scan and first meeting with the oncologist Dr. Prager. Marisa was in the waiting room during the PET scan and Michaela joined Julie in the meeting with Dr. Prager while a whole crew of others were listening on the phone and telecom.

We are thankful to have some confirmed information, but we were heartbroken the PET Scan today found reconstructed breast cancer involving skin, an enlarged lymph node in the center of her chest, enlarged lymph nodes by her clavicle, spinal lesions in the cervical, multiple rib lesions and lumbar spine lesions in addition to tumor in liver. PET Scan did not reveal lung lesions as indicated on the abdomen CT Scan, however will be followed by a CT Chest. The CT scan showed spots on the lungs, but the PET did not so there will likely be another chest scan. It was overwhelming to see how far spread the cancer is and frustrating that it was not detected sooner.

Dr. Prager was great to talk to, very patient with our many questions and seemed realistically optimistic. We were able to talk to her about potential treatments, but we will not be able to plan until the biopsy happens. The biopsy determines the treatment plan. Unfortunately, she said the biopsy results take two weeks and time is of the essence. Dr. Prager will be calling on her behalf every day to advocate for the appointment to be moved sooner.

Prayer requests:

• Praise that we were connected with a kind and helpful doctor

• Praise for our amazing friends and family, especially Reina and Kim who have been calling doctors, nurses and hospitals day and night to get appointments

• Prayer that we can get the biopsy moved up ASAP, that is critical

• Prayer that the brain scan and lung scan would come back with no additional issues

• Prayer that the second oncologist appointment at Cedar Sinai on Thursday afternoon would also go well and that the Lord would give Julie and her squad wisdom to choose a good doctor

• Prayer that the blood work would go smoothly and be quick and painless (Julie’s veins are small and difficult to locate and only accessible from one side)

• Prayer that Julie would be comfortable physically, peaceful mentally and that she would be able to have fun times with friends and family during a very stressful season

• Prayer that Mic, Marisa, Michaela, Neal and Meg would be able to focus at their jobs as they have been very distracted and emotional

• Prayer that Eli would be diligent during his pastoral internship at Bay View OPC and able to balance visiting with the family in Los Angeles and investing his time in the congregation in San Diego

• Pray that the Hirtzel, Archimbud, Drinkward family would be in good spirits, able to support each other and enjoy time spent together

Thank you,

Marisa and Michelle

Photo by Julie

Thank You from the Hirtzel Bunch

Hey friends, 

This is Marisa, Julie’s oldest daughter. I’ll be joining Michelle to help post updates for prayer and just general FAQs that we get. 

We have been blessed by all of the caring notes and gifts and food and calls to doctors and visits and tears and hugs over the last six days. We are so encouraged by our friends and family who pray so diligently for us. It’s incredible to think how many prayers are going to God on our behalf. 

Disclaimer: I can’t speak for everyone in my family in these messages (if you know some of us, you probably know we have strong opinions that can be very independent of each other, to say the least!), but I’ll do my best. And one thing we always agree on is how much we love and look up to our mom. It’s been a very hard few days and I think it’s safe to say that we are all pretty exhausted. Each of us deals with it in our own odd way. Please pray for strength and peace from the Lord for all of us.

My mom is the strongest of all of us. She is able to go on short walks and do many “normal” things and often seems fine from the outside, but she is in a lot of pain at different times and says that it worsens each day. She is such a strong person and is very used to constant pain, so you know that if she says isn’t feeling well that means it really, really sucks. We are bossing her around a lot so that she eats and rests and is on a special diet. We are probably more annoying than anything else, but she humors us kindly. She honestly has just been thinking of everyone but herself so far and we tell her not to worry about any of us. 

The next two weeks will be where we learn about what the future might look like. Right now is a lot of waiting for doctor’s appointments and test results. The medical system can be so amazing and also so frustrating. Please pray for patience as we wait. 

I know this would be a completely different experience without our church family and all the friends and relatives that love us and my mom so much, even the people who don’t know her are praying and helping support us. Thank you all so much. 

Marisa Jane and the rest of the Hirtzel bunch

Photo by Julie