Yep, I believe here I go again :(

I am so sorry you are facing this. I hope you get the biopsy quickly and have a plan in place soon. If you hop over to the bone mets thread on the Stage IV froum, those fine gals will be able to give you really good guidance on what to expect next. ((HUGS))

mdempsey, there's no reason for denial of a PET scan after two CT scans. It's the best way to see where cancer is and how active it is. Your doctor is supposed to APPEAL the denial from your insurance company. If this is a problem, you should find another doctor. You need a doctor who is ready to demand what you need. A PET scan is a standard diagnostic for metastases. (I get one every 3 months.) Your insurance company knows this and so does your doctor.

It's helpful to have the CT scans done at the same hospital, on the same equipment. I learned this the hard way when I had a CT scan at a different hospital because of some pain issues and the report said I had cancer in my liver. Uh, that was wrong. Humans make mistakes and scans capture images of your body during a single point in time. It's possible that the cancer isn't spreading quickly but instead what was seen on second scan was not visible during first. These are possibilities.

Don't worry about your bones. You won't die from those spots on your bones.

I was in a similar place as you, when my cancer metastasized. When I heard that I had cancer in my bones, I thought I was going to die very soon, like in a month or two. (!!!) It took me about 6 months to calm down and tell myself I still had living to do. That was five years ago. You have had 9 years pass since you were first diagnosed. That's a good sign. Many new and effective treatments have been introduced. Oncology specialists can help you manage yours.

First things first. Get a PET scan.

You have a strong community here to lean on and refer to.

I hope my comments help. I'm not trying to tell you not to worry; that's only natural. Don't give up on yourself yet.

Wishing you many happy years ahead.

Hi mdempsey96....so sorry you are going through this. Just want to say IMO being treated at a major university teaching hospital is paramount. I don't know where you live but if you are close to a major city you might want to check it out. Hopefully you are already there. Good luck and keep us posted.