Rob's Bone Marrow Transplant Journey

Hello to Family and Friends of Rob Dayton, Jr. As you may know, Rob was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in the summer of 2019, but he has been able to manage it with medication until this past summer (2023). Throughout this time period, he developed new high-risk mutations and was progressing toward Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Therefore, the team at Roswell Cancer Institute determined the best survival strategy would be an Allogenic Stem Cell transplant with a goal toward a complete cure, if successful.

Rob went inpatient at Roswell on September 30th and began five days of conditioning chemotherapy and two rounds of whole-body radiation. He received his donor cells on October 5th (his donor is a 24-year-old male from Spain), remained inpatient for 23 days, and was released. However, Rob is required to live within 15 minutes of the hospital for 100 days post-transplant for monitoring and weekly appointments.

As a result, renting an apartment in Buffalo, NY was mandatory, which has forced Rob to incur considerable expenses while also maintaining the cost of his residence at home. Upon his release to return home, traveling to and from Buffalo on a regular basis will be a necessity for months to come, which is also what Rob has been doing for the past four years. Meanwhile, he has not even left Buffalo, but the medical bills have been rolling in, specialty medical co-pays are significant, the rent must be paid (in both locations), and travel costs continue to increase.

Therefore, we (Aunt Pam and Jen Dayton) have set up this fundraiser. Friends and family have been asking how they can help Rob, and monetary donations would be the most welcome at this time. The transplant seems to be successful so far, but Rob still has a long road (literally and figuratively) ahead of him.

Anyone who knows Rob also knows he is the “go-to” guy when anyone needs help, and he never asks for anything in return. He has been there for so many friends and family members, as well as friends of friends of friends, over the years. At a time when Rob needs us most, we are hopeful the community Rob loves so much will come together to support him as much as possible. Our goal is that his road to recovery can be stress free, and together, we can make this happen. We thank you in advance for your support, donations, prayers, and love. We are so fortunate to have each and every one of you in our lives.