Hi, I’m thinking about RT for my dupuytrens . From reading and telephone conversations with radiation clinics there seems to be several different ways of administering the RT. Here are three that I have found.
1. 5 days of RT, 6-8 weeks off, 5 days of RT.
2. 7 treatments of RT in 5 days. Basically Monday through Friday, with 2 treatments on Tuesday and Thursday.
3. 5 days of RT, weekend, 5 days of RT
Treatment plan #1 was perfected by the Germans, they seem to have the most experience using RT for dupuytrens. There are clinics in the US that follow this protocol, but they are out of my area.
Treatment plan #2 is used at the University of Oklahoma. It only takes a week.
Treatment plan #3 is used at Scripps hospital in San Diego. I live in San Diego.
So, are there any significant differences in these treatment protocals? My gut instinct is to trust the German protocol, because they have the most experience and published material/studies. There has to be a real good reason to break up the treatments with a 6-8 week break.
The Dr. I spoke with at U of O said there are radiation equivalency charts, which dictate different treatment protocol that are all basically equal. He said I should not concern myself with the differences.
Dupuytrens has badly affected the strength and dexterity of my left hand,( it has literally started shrinking) if the same thing happens to my right hand I would be out of work. I am definitely considering RT, but need to know which plan to pick.
Thank You
Bob

Gweneth,
I'm Happy to hear about your success with RT. I'm going to post this over at the dupuytrens forum like you suggested.
Thanks

Bob

I asked Dr. Seegenschmiedt about the two treatment options and he told me that they preferred the first approach as the gap provided time for the body to recover from the radiation, which it will do with the low doses that are used on your hands.

Think of it like spending 5 days in the sun for 4 hours each day and then 6 weeks indoors to recover and then repeating the process with 5 days in the sun again for 4 hours as compared to spending 5 days in the sun for 8 hours each day. No real hard data but the doctors feel that lower dosages spread over a longer period of time is probably safer.

At the time of my XRT in Essen the type 2 schedule took about 14 calendar days with treatment every other day at the higher dosages and you needed to factor in the weekend to arrive and the weekend between the two weeks when treatment would take place.

Protocol #3 is what I had done at Scripps. Had it done in July '09. No new nodules have formed in the radiated area. Remember that RT is not effective on cords.

In my case, 5 days, weekend in between, and 5 more days worked for me. I am very pleased with the results.

cureall:

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Can someone tell me: I have nodules and cords on my left hand...but no contraction....would rt REDUCE these nodules? Or does it just prevent future nodules?

cureall