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Using the Internet, I diagnosed myself with Dupuytren's in mid-April. In my research, I came across your endorsement of radiation therapy to treat Dupuytren's in its early stages. I had already been to two doctors who had advised the wait=and=see approach, but i didn't want to wait until it was too late to do something about it if I could. Your advice to seek out a radiation oncologist and to not take no for an answer led to my locating a doctor at Suburban Hospital (affiliated with Johns Hopkins) in Bethesda, Md. I met with her last Friday. Even though the only benign condition she had treated with radiation before was keloids, she had done her research and believed that RT could be used to effectively treat the Dupuytren's in my left hand. I will get an MRI on Wednesday and then have the 5 days of radiation followed by another 5 days of RT 6 weeks after that.

I am so very grateful to you for spreading the word about RT, otherwise I might have waited until RT would no longer be an option for treatment. My sister has it, too, but I think that her case is too far advanced for RT. Although we were both born in the U.S., my paternal grandfather was British and my paternal grandmother was Finnish. I do not recall any instance of Dupuytren's in our family history until now. Otherwise, I don't fit the profile of those individuals prone toward DD who abuse alcohol or smoke or have diabetes.

Thank you again and keep up the good work!

Cheers!

Stephanie