Table of Contents
Patient Power Insights from the Front Lines of Myeloma
Presented By
Bristol Myers Squibb
Mariana Broussard
Associate Director, Global Patient Advocacy, Multiple Myeloma
Dr. Brian Englehart, MD, MSCI
Multiple Myeloma Medical Engagement Lead
Robert Pugh
Long-Term Multiple Myeloma Survivor Patient Advocate
Robert Pugh was preparing for an upcoming sporting event when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The life-changing news arrived out of nowhere for the active man who considered himself the picture of health. “ I do not and did not ever have a history of illnesses of any kind,” he told the audience at the Black Health Matters Fall 2025 Health Summit & Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Pugh shared what it was like learning that he was facing multiple myeloma. “I was preparing for a race, a 15K, and I went in simply for an examination,” said Pugh. He wanted to get a jump on the minor pain he was feeling. It didn’t strike him as cause for serious concern. “As a runner, you’re accustomed to pain.” His doctor examined his back pain and raised an alarm. “He recognized that my white blood cells had decreased. They were not below the average number, but for me, they were below what he was accustomed to,” said Pugh. The physician recommended additional tests and ultimately gave him a referral.
“I need you to go see this guy,” the doctor told him. Pugh was shocked to learn the guy was an oncologist.
How Common Is Multiple Myeloma In Black Households?
Pugh’s experience was not uncommon in the Black community. The International Myeloma Foundation reports that “In the U.S., African Americans are about 14% of the country’s population, but they constitute about 20% of all myeloma patients.”
“Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer in the United States,” said Mariana Broussard, Associate Director, Global Patient Advocacy, Multiple Myeloma at Bristol Myers Squibb. It progresses over three stages. Treatments are advancing. There have been innovations in regimens including stem cell transplants but there is no cure. She described the way that the condition disproportionately impacts the Black community.
“African-American patients are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma compared to white patients. We also often experience worse outcomes due to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Mortality is also about twice as high in the African-American community,” she continued.
How Does Multiple Myeloma Show Up Differently?
Unlike the dramatic moments people watch on television where a character finds an oversized lump they can’t ignore, this was not as clear-cut of a process. “’It’s disseminated. It is spread throughout your blood and bone marrow, which is unlike solid tumors, which you know generally begin as a lump or a bump in a solid organ,” explained Dr. Brian Englehart.
Multiple myeloma is a common form of cancer, but Pugh had zero information about the condition when he received his diagnosis. “I had no idea what that was,” he said. “It just kind of threw me.”
Pugh sprinted towards denial. He refused to believe what he was told initially. “When I was diagnosed, I thought they had the wrong person,” he said.
According to a 2022 study in the American Journal of Hematology, “Multiple myeloma accounts for 1% of all cancers and approximately 10% of all hematologic malignancies,” and “each year over 32,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States, and almost 13,000 patients die of the disease.”
Diagnosing Multiple Myeloma Can Be Difficult
Englehart noted that Pugh’s experience of a simple annoyance symbolizing something more serious was not uncommon. “His course was kind of very typical for many patients with multiple myeloma,” he said. “Patients can often present with pain, and it’s in the back, it can be in the hip or ribs.”
A person’s lifestyle, like Pugh being a runner, or their stage of life can impact how these symptoms are masked. “The other thing is we all, especially as we get older, we all experience pain,” said Englehart. He taught the room the differences in pain that might accompany a serious illness, and not just a stressful day.
“There are some symptoms that are more worrisome than others, like pain that wakes you up at night or pain that doesn’t go away after a week or two of rest or pain that you can’t attribute to some strenuous activity or something that you’ve done in the preceding couple of days,” he continued. There are other symptoms that can be overlooked as well. “Patients can also have fatigue from anemia. Recurrent infections are also fairly common too, so multiple myeloma is a very tricky disease.”
Myeloma Can Exist Without Symptoms
He explained that firming up a diagnosis can be difficult due to the protocol. “There is no one test generally used for diagnosis,” Englehart added. “It’s really a series of tests.”
“Some patients with myeloma are asymptomatic. They have no symptoms whatsoever and are diagnosed incidentally,” said Englehart. “You go for a routine checkup, and your doctor finds out that you’re more anemic or your kidneys aren’t functioning normally. Sometimes that can lead to a diagnosis.”
Routine screenings can help patients learn their status and begin treatment sooner. Accessing these can be difficult for those without the necessary resources. “Economic and social characteristics can play a large role in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of multiple myeloma,” said Englehart. “If healthcare access is limited, symptoms may go undiagnosed or untreated.”
Treating Multiple Myeloma Requires Collaboration
The trickiness of multiple myeloma is best fought as a unit. Patients have to advocate for themselves and coordinate with different health care providers to improve their outcomes.
“It really takes a team and a village to help treat and care for patients with multiple myeloma,” said Englehart. “Patients who are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, it’s also important to know that their usual treatment course is dictated by a multidisciplinary team. Meaning it’s groups of different doctors, nurses, clinicians involved in their care. That can be hematologists, oncologists, it can be radiation doctors, radiologists, pathologists, supportive care.
Multiple Myeloma Can Impact One’s Mental Health
It can be helpful for one’s healthcare team to include a mental health professional as well. A 2025 article in the Journal of Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia identifies mental health considerations as a gap in the treatment protocols for multiple myeloma patients. It found that “People with myeloma often report high levels of anxiety and depression and are reported to have the lowest quality of life of any cancer type likely due to the incurable nature of the disease.” Pugh confirmed the mental health challenges. “I was the mover and the shaker. I wasn’t moving or shaking. So, I found myself avoiding people, you know? Because you’re just not who you thought you were.”
His trust and relationships with his providers helped him work through those challenges. They helped him establish a routine for a maintenance phase to keep his health in mind during his day-to-day life. It would look different, but he could make it look the best possible with proper intervention.
“Myeloma is not something that that comes you take care of it, and it’s over,” he acknowledged
Pugh advised those recently diagnosed to take the advice they are given to heart to pursue the best health they can and define their own maintenance phase routine.
“You have to take ownership for what you’re being told,” said Pugh.
