When I was first in contact with Dr. Denkler, I was trying to determine if I needed NA or RT. I asked him and he left it up to me, but he made contact with a radiologist at UCSF who agreed to do it. He was not opposed to RT. They are just separate procedures anyway and RT will not do what NA does.
Ultimately, I had NA done first by Dr. Denkler and RT later by Dr. T at Scripps Clinic, La Jolla. Dr. T said that NA should be done first to release contracture because RT won't do that. RT is to stop progression, not fix contracture already in place. Fortunately for me, it did reduce the many nodules I had, reduced the tightness across my palm and increased the span from thumb to pinkie.

Yes, Wolfgang, that's what I think happened - shrinking nodules = less tightness. I think by radiating the nodules, that will keep cords from developing. I hope so. The cords I already had were not affected by RT at all that I could tell. They had already been released by NA. It makes sense to me that RT stopped the cords from progressing, because they were active and continuing to contract. I was fortunate to have mostly nodules.

I noticed that the itchiness was not happening after the first week. The improvement was gradual. Dr. T had said that it would continue to improve for a month. Actually, it continued to gradually improve for 6-8 weeks. It wasn't immediate but I noticed that the nodules were smaller/flatter and with less tightness. I didn't have a splint, but I stretched it frequently during the day. At night, I'd flatten my hand out, palm down and stick it under my pillow or under my husband's shoulder. I don't know exactly when, but the tightness mostly went away. I didn't count the nodules or mark where they were, but I don't have as many and the ones left are smaller and just there, not bothering me.

I had RT almost 3 months after NA. I'd say having it a month after NA would be good. That gives the hand time to heal after NA. It may also depend on how severe the contracture is. Ask Dr. T. He may be the one who said one month after NA.

Good luck with your RT. I hope it is going to stop your Dups. Please keep us posted on how it goes and updates for the next few months.

Australia Callling, Just for information I had RT some 2 months after a repeat surgery. Keloids are eradiated within 24 hours after surgery.

Luba:

I had radiation on my right hand about 2.5 months after NA-- I had very few symptoms

I had radiation on my left hand 1 week after NA-- my radiation oncologist, Dr. Chang also thought it would be a good idea to have it as soon as possible after NA. This time I had ferocious itching and slight burning that started about a week after the treatment. It took 7-9 days to subside and my doc-- although he hasn't seen it--suspects I might have had a mild radiation reaction. Interestingly enough, it was mostly in the areas that are "sunken"-- not totally released by NA.

I'm curious whether those of you have had radiation therapy had a bolus used. "Bolus, a flabby, rubbery material, is used to 'fool' the radiation beam so it will deposit the maximum dose on the skin surface instead of a fraction of an inch deeper, as it would otherwise. Therefore, a skin reaction is almost inevitable in this scenario. Bolus is usually incorporated into radiation therapy when a surgical scar, such as a mastectomy scar, needs to receive a full dose of radiation therapy."