newman:

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Hi RT is only beneficial on nodules in the early stage. Not on cord. PNF or NA is your next option . I noted some on the forum have had RT after NA.

The risk of cancer strongly depends on what is irradiated. Hand and foot have a relatively low risk. Did you have a look at http://www.dupuytren-online.de/downloads...20Dupuytren.htm ?

Wolfgang

humana:

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Has anyone had radiation therapy in their 30's or 20's? The feeling I get from this forum is the benefit from radiation far out weighs the risks from radiation. I am a radiation worker and explain the risk vs benefit multiple times a day to my patients for diagnostic images. The radiation dose from a life time of mammograms/x-rays is miniscule compared to the dose from radiation therapy. There is a theoretical risk for diagnostic tests but a measured risk for radiation therapy. This was echoed to me at my appointment with a radiation oncologist.
Since I have cords not nodules, I agree with the risk far out weighs the benefit in my case.
Maybe in 20 years when I'm in my 50's the risks would be less scary.

It is wrong to compare deep XRT for cancer with the radiation going into organs with the radiation of the dermal layer in the hands or feet. With my XRT in the USA a CAT scan was done to help with the exact calibration of the machine so that the x-ray radiation would be focused at the correct depth in my hands. The machines are able to focus the radiation in a manner that is similar to using a mangnifying glass to focus the rays of the sun to burn a piece of paper. The lens has to be held an exact distance from the paper for the solar radiation to be focused and affect the paper.

XRT needs to be done as soon as possible to get the best long term outcome. A delay of less than 12 months can make a big difference. My GP doctor. Dr. Dawn Motyka in Santa Cruz, misdiagnosed my Dupuytren's and the resulting delay in XRT meant that the disease has progressed too far in my left hand to be effective. Fortunately the Dupuytren's in my right hand was not as advanced and now 6.5 years later my right hand is no different than it was in 2007 when the XRT was performed.

If you do not have insurance in this pre-Obamacare time then it is going to be cheaper to travel to Essen in Germany and have the XRT done there. My medical costs in Essen as a US citizen in 2007 was only 400 Euros and this was for both hands. Even with airfar, trains, lodging, and food, the treatment in Germany was a third of the cost of getting the XRT in the USA.