Oya Gilbert Advocates for Collaboration and Support for Patients With Myeloma

In an interview with CURE, Oya Gilbert stressed the need for collaboration within the myeloma community. He encouraged organizations to work together, set aside branding concerns, and focus on shared goals to accelerate progress. According to Gilbert, meaningful advances require increased funding, participation and coordinated efforts. While he sees hope for a future cure, he emphasized that current progress depends on the community uniting and supporting patients in practical, tangible ways.

Gilbert, diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2017, combines hip-hop, storytelling and advocacy to educate underserved communities about blood cancer. He was named one of four Blood Cancer Heroes at the 2025 Annual Blood Cancer Heroes event.

Gilbert focuses on improving awareness, access, and support for patients with myeloma, highlighting the importance of providing resources and guidance to those affected. He emphasized that reaching patients and helping them understand the disease is critical to building a stronger, more informed community.

Transcript

What progress do you hope to see in terms of equity, awareness and support for myeloma patients over the next decade?

I’d like to see this administration and government to do more, not reduce. I think we’re getting close to maybe even a cure one day for this. And I say that with a lot of knowledge. You have different therapies out here now. If there was ever a time to get myeloma, this is the time. If you’re going to get it, I encourage the community to stick together. We have to be able to collaborate. We’ll get way more done together, than done separately, in these silo things.

So I’d like to see the myeloma community, and we’re a strong community, but I’d like to see us, especially as organizations in that community, start working together more, a little less concerned about the branding and understanding that the mission is to get to the patients and make sure they understand what this disease is and how to deal with it, so they have some type of resource or outlet to connect with. That would be my biggest thing that I would like to see in the future.

I know a cure is coming. I know there are too many smart people out in the world, and we’re on it. But in the interim, I’d like to see that progress happen sooner, and that can only happen through more funding, more participation and more collaboration.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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