In 1988 I had a sibling related bone marrow transplant. In those early years STI-571 had not yet been discovered and the only alternatives were the BMT or a blind study trial basis of Alpha-Interferon I opted for the BMT and am here today for nineteen years post The BMT itself almost killed me as well as suffer considerably I had to undergo total body radiation and massive doses of chemotherapy and be confined to a laminus air flow chamber for months and suffer from Graft Vs Host disease (GVHD) It took me two years to get myself back to a normal way of life If Glivec were around at the time I certainly would have taken this course of treatment Years passed and STI-571 made it's way in the treatment of CML and excited me because I knew that there would be little or no suffering while using this new "Miracle" drug for the many other CML suffers. I met this man to protect his privacy let's call him Mr Z We spoke often and he mentioned that he had been on Glivec ever since it's inception and was doing relatively well with little or no side effects I was able to contact a representitive of Novartis and mentioned that I would be interested in purchasing shares of the company At this time they were making limited amounts of STI-571 and I wanted to see this drug flourish. I mentioned that I would be buying a lot of the company shares, and purchased their American Registary Shares I also mentioned that since I would like to support the company I would also have others purchase shares in quantity I went onto the Internet and emailed many of my family members friends neighbors and many other people that I have known throughout the years Most everyone that I had contacted did purchase these shares and not necessarily to achieve a profit but rather to support Novartis I made friends with many that are currently using Glivec and I am now disappointed at this price gauging I have supported them now they must support those that need Glivec because it is their lifeline