Maybe a third opinion is in order! If a physician ever made me feel like I was more on the ball than he/she was, I'm outa there! My doc's need to be their own quality control people. Continue to question all the answers & use your own good judgement. I may be wrong, but I'm not sure any scan can truly stage cancer. The scans shuold be able to be read the same day by the scan doc & same day or next by your other docs. Stay on them, no reason you should have to wait very long. I used lidocaine lolipops, green apple & cherry after my biopsy. Worked great! Had to get them from a compounding pharmacy, $7 a piece, but worth it! My best to your mom & to you for caring for her! Erik