Laurie Breiner

Laurie was diagnosed in June 2011 with a type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma called Follicular Lymphoma. It is an indolent, non-aggressive type of cancer, which currently is considered incurable however, it does respond well to treatment. For the past several years, Laurie has received various treatments which have kept the disease under control. However, in February 2016, these treatments stopped being effective and she was no longer symptom free. She immediately began a regimen of stronger chemotherapy called R-CHOP and completed her last round of chemo in June. 

While she has continued to respond to treatment, her responses have been neither complete nor long lasting. Given her relatively young age and otherwise good health, it has been the recommendation of her doctors to pursue a stem cell transplant with the hope of attaining a durable remission or a possible cure.

Although her sister, Beth, was tested as a possible donor,  she was not a match and the search continued on the Be The Match Registry.  Within a very short period of time, 6 matches were found and one donor was selected. While all information is confidential, we do know that the donor is a 23 year old male in the United States and is a perfect 10/10 tissue match. Laurie is tentatively scheduled for a stem cell transplant mid October at the Indiana Blood and Marrow Transplant Center at Franciscan St. Francis Health. This transplant journey will likely be a long one and we hope to use this Caring Bridge as a way to keep our family and friends updated on Laurie's progress. Her daughter, Katie, will be providing journal updates. Please feel free to contact her with any questions at kbreiner@alumni.iu.edu  Because of health safety restrictions, Laurie cannot have any fresh flowers or plants. Thank you for your understanding and please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.