"The madder Hulk gets…the stronger Hulk gets!" -- The Hulk (Marvel Universe)

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One of my favorite childhood comic book heroes was “The Hulk.”

Why?

Because a jolt of gamma radiation infused into a timid, socially awkward scientist, Bruce Banner, which then physically turned him into an enormous green beast who smashed anything that stood in his way! Being a small tyke back then, who was bullied quite often by the bigger kids on the playground, it was obvious of why I was fond of the Hulk.

In a sense, I have a Hulk-like transition going on right now within my own immune system. Just like gamma radiation turning a timid, socially awkward scientist into the Hulk, the immunotherapy treatment with Yervoy is turning my weak immune system into a Hulk-like smashing melanoma machine!

This morning, I went to see my oncologist about the palpable swelling near the incision scar on the upper left leg. As the oncologist’s hands felt and inspected the swelling, he commented that the first immunotherapy infusion could possibly be working in and around the area where the tumor was resected.

He surmised that “the swelling could be the reaction of the Yervoy attacking the remaining melanoma cancer cells in the upper left leg.”

I’m like, “Hoorah!” 

This is like having ringside seats to the greatest fight in my body. If the swelling…in fact…is due to the immunotherapy treatment attacking the melanoma cancer cells, I hope my whole body swells up then! ;-)

ajh