Maya Dronca dreamt of being a doctor like her mom, Roxana Dronca, M.D. Cancer denied her that opportunity, but she created a lasting legacy at Mayo Clinic all the same.
“Maya was young, but she was amazingly ahead of her years,” Dr. Dronca says. “She spoke about wanting to be a Mayo Clinic doctor from a very early age — before she was 4. She spoke many times about wanting to help people and follow in my footsteps.”
The experience of caring for her sick daughter — and the pain Maya endured making regular in-clinic visits — was a powerful force as Dr. Dronca imagined building a program like Cancer Care Beyond Walls.
Although she initially was unsure it would ever be safe to administer chemotherapy in patients’ homes, Dr. Dronca continually pushed toward the development of the program. She knew how much it would mean for patients and their families to have Mayo Clinic-quality care in their homes.
“She is a visionary,” says Jeremy Jones, M.D., a consultant in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and the medical director of Cancer Care Beyond Walls for Mayo Clinic Platform. “When she first told me about this, I said, ‘You’re dreaming! We can’t possibly pull this off.’ But she insisted we could. I’m personally just happy to be able to work with her and to be in her shadow. She’s a great person and an even better leader.”
Benefactor support was integral to the launch of Cancer Care Beyond Walls, and it fuels life-changing cancer research every day at Mayo Clinic. The Maya Dronca Foundation has given generously to Mayo Clinic as part of its mission to fund research that helps prevent, intercept and treat pediatric cancer — giving every child a chance for a happy, cancer-free life. The foundation was founded in 2021 on the strength of gifts that followed Maya’s passing.
Cancer is a leading cause of death among children in the United States. Nationwide, approximately 15,000 children under the age of 20 are diagnosed each year.
“Maya would have wanted to help other kids who were going through what she went through,” Dr. Dronca says. “Raising funds for pediatric cancer is very meaningful to me.”
Dr. Dronca took up dance after losing Maya, on the recommendation of a friend who owned a dance studio. In August 2024, the Maya Dronca Foundation held its first-ever Dancing with the Doctors fundraiser. Nearly all the entrants were Mayo Clinic in Florida doctors.
“Dancing is such a medicine,” Dr. Dronca says. “The event was a way for me to bring some joy into something that is so sad and caused so much heartbreak.
“Many physicians want to raise funds to help our patients, and dancing got us out of our comfort zone as doctors.”
Dancing with the Doctors went even better than Dr. Dronca could have imagined. She was amazed by the dedication her medical colleagues showed to dancing and the event.
After the event, the Maya Dronca Foundation contributed $100,000 to Mayo Clinic.
“The day we were able to donate that first $100,000 was one of my best days in the last few years,” Dr. Dronca says. “So many people worked so hard to raise those funds. To think we’ve done our part to help this fight and know that Mayo Clinic will really put it to good use is an amazing feeling.”
Maya would have wanted to help other kids who were going through what she went through.
— Roxana Dronca, M.D.
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