For those of you with a willingness to pursue alternative approaches to dealing with DC, the following site might be of interest: http://www.phitenusa.com. I live in the Seattle area, and this company recently opened shop here as part of their venture into US markets. They have been very successful in Japan. Their products are titanium based and they claim that their formulation of titanium influences the body's electrical/blood activities to promote natural healing. I have used their circular titanium adhesives directly over the DC lump and have noticed improvement. I also have a friend that has had very noticible improvement with arthritis in her hand. One word of caution, however; I noticed that their titanium lotion contains aloe, which some believe might stimulate the formation of collagen - not something we need with DC. I purchased the adhesives and the wristban. I know they provide free samples at their stores - not sure how this works on their website.

John