Hi 1oldsoul,

Great news for you! 🙂 The full body CT or a PET scan are both very expensive, and many insurance companies will not pay for them. My doctor never thought they were necessary with a low-risk patient who gets regular blood tests, has no enlarged spleen or liver, etc. Radiation overuse, as you noted, is not good for people with or without any type of cancer or in MGUS' case, "pre-cancer!"

I did have a bone marrow biopsy early on, which I would encourage, so they can see everything and get all of the genetic testing done, and also check for amyloid issues. I later also had a "fat pad biopsy" on my stomach, where in his office surgery area a surgeon specializing in biopsies made just a half-inch incision (after giving me just a local shot of Lidocaine), and then used forceps to quickly pull out maybe an inch of fat thru the incision, and cut it into 3 pieces to be sent to the lab to stain and see if there were any amyloid cells. Ammylodosis is nasty and hard to treat, so when I got a negative result from the Congo stain they used, I was relieved. It took 15 minutes or so and 3 sutures. It discolored/bruised a little for a week. After 4-5 months there was no scar at all. I would suggest doing that and the bone marrow biopsy (have it done in a CT scan bed so the doctor can see the best place to insert the needle). That took 10 minutes to numb things, an IV with a little fentanyl, and local Lidocaine. I felt a little pressure twice, but otherwise, it was no big deal at all.

The hospital had me stay in a "recovery area" recliner for 2 hours afterward, then home. Someone had to drive me of course. My hip muscle was sore for maybe 3-4 days. Otherwise, it was very straightforward. A few doctors do these in their office, which I would NOT recommend! You want to be somewhere they have the right equipment and other things in case they are needed.

That's all I got. 🙂 Feel free to ask any questions. Continued good luck with the MGUS!