Love and prayers, Maggie, for you and Tom.
God Bless you both.

A few minutes ago I let
♥ Maggilove ♥
know that she and her son are in my thoughts constantly.

A biopsy is tantamount to surgery and may not be necessary in some cases.
I had pain in my back in the flank area. IPV, Sonogram, and CT-scan showed tumors in both kidneys. My urologist sent me for a biopsy, I went thinking that while it probably would hurt a lot I would be up and around in no time. Wrong! I spoke to the radiologist that was scheduled to do the biopsy; he told me that a biopsy was unnecessary as any kidney tumor already detected was going to require surgery and that a biopsy was equivalent to surgery., and why would I put myself through this unnecessary suffering He also told me that doing a biopsy is risky as they may miss the target, and if they hit the target there was a possibility that the biopsy needle would lose cancer cells as it was retracted, which was seeding the cancer and increasing the chance of metastasis. Not to mention the internal bleeding and damage to the kidneys.
At that point I cancelled the biopsy and started looking for a new urologist.
When I went to MD Anderson Cancer Center for a second opinion they agreed that any kidney tumor was "cancer" and surgery would be required. After two very painful surgeries I was so thankful to that radiologist for sparing me that biopsy that I went to him and personally thanked him.
I do not know the specifics of Maggie's case but I feel I know enough to fully understand what she is going through.
My prayers go out to Maggie and her son.

I mailed ♥ maggilove ♥ a few minutes ago

It had been too long.
Gmail had stored her address in a section
to where it ought not be moved .....