Oct. 30, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team will host a three-day swab drive (Nov. 13-15) to help Kim Roper, mother of senior Drew Roper (Columbus, Ohio), in her fight against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Kim Roper is in need of a bone marrow transplant to fight the disease.
The Roper family has set up several ways to submit swabs for the national bone marrow data base. Their website, Match4Kim.com, is dedicated to help Kim Roper, and tens of thousands more, beat cancer. The swabs will be submitted to the National Marrow Donor Program. Participants between the ages of 18-44 are sought out as the most viable donors.
Nittany Lion men's lacrosse, along with many other Penn State organizations including the field hockey team, THON and Penn State Panhellic Council, will host the swab drive at the HUB Robeson Center.
Swab Drive Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 13: Noon - 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 15: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Kim Roper was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2009, initially going into remission after radiation therapy. The cancer returned in 2010 after a one-year evaluation and Roper underwent a five-month chemotherapy treatment until June 2010. Six weeks later, tumors were found to grow slowly.
This past September, the cancer spread and the best option for treatment is inpatient chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant. Roper's chemotherapy is scheduled to begin Thursday.
For more information, please visit www.Match4Kim.com, follow @Match4Kim on Twitter and check out the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/match4kim.
To visit the National Marrow Donor Program, use the code "match4kim" to complete the online form.
--NITTANY LIONS--