Thought I would share my experience so far as I have gained so much information from the other posters here. I injured my hand lifting weights a few months ago. Next day a large lump appeared in the palm of my hand. Thought it was just an injury and would eventually heal itself. But over a few weeks not much had changed. Then one day it seemed like the lump had formed a cord like structure. I was always probing the lump when it first occurred but it was without any structure. And then one day it seemed like a definite line up and down my palm had now formed. I thought this was part of the healing process but did some research on the internet and found this place. So I now had diagnosed myself but wanted to confirm with a Dr. Luckily I live in South FL so I booked an appointment with Dr. Eaton. Great doctor and probably the leading expert on Dupuytren's in the country. He confirmed my diagnosis and we went over my options. I am at the early nodule stage so I was interested in radiation therapy. Dr. Eaton was kind enough to make some calls and find a radiation oncologist in my city who would perform the work. I am as you might expect his first Dupuytren patient. I went in for a CT scan the other day and they are now fabricating a cut out made of some material that will shield the rest of my hand while the radiation is focused on the Dupuytren tissue. I am going for 5 straight days then 5 or 6 weeks off followed by another 5 straight days of radiation. I believe he said I would be getting 2,ooo radiation units in total. I am confident that God willing this will be successful. The tissue is in the early stages and is active so the radiation will kill off that tissue and hopefully put it into dormancy for a long time. Will post more as the procedure continues. For anyone interested my radiation oncologist is Dr. Michael Kasper in Boca Raton. I know it can be difficult to track down people to treat this disease but in a weeks time he will have acquired at least some experience.

Thanks for the post. It is always great to see another doctor willing to treat DD with RT. Good luck with the treatment. Hopefully your hand will do as well as mine has.

Lori

callie:

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Do you have insurance that will cover the cost (my insurance company would not)? What is the total cost that was quoted for you?