In December 1997, Interferon -- the only available treatment to hold back my terminal chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) -- was failing me. After nearly three years on the drug, that had been expected.

Sitting in my doctor's office at MD Anderson, 40 pounds lighter than my normal weight, my doctor offered a sliver of hope. He said, "We have a month-long clinical trial of a CML drug called PegIntron."

I knew there...