When I was first diagnosed with Philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in 1989, there weren’t that many treatment options available. The 5-year survival rate was only about 20%, too, which meant that just one out of every five people diagnosed with the disease would still be alive five years later. 

Remarkably, I am still here, 33 years after my own diagnosis. And my leukemia remains in complete remission. For that...