Hi @colely
It has been 11 years since my mastectomy, but the way I remember it I had an annual breast MRI the first two years after then a breast (really chest) ultrasound annually every year after that. I hope they would have caught my new cancer with that but it was easy for me to feel it manually. Hard, immobile, painless lump that I think was 1.2 cm when removed. The first year post op I rotated visits and manual checks with my surgeon and her PA every 3 months I believe then every 6 months till the 5 year mark. Annually after that. With all the lumps and bumps and ribs, etc. after my mastectomy I often thought maybe I felt something but the ultrasound indicated no. Then when the cancer showed up I had no doubt it was a new growth and felt certain it was cancer which it was. Keep doing your own checks and point out anything that you’re uncertain about. Ask if you can have an annual ultrasound. If you ever had an ultrasound during pregnancy it’s just like that. You lie on your back and they run a little roller ball all over your chest and it shows them images. No radiation and it’s painless. It’s good for peace of mind. They say they can never remove 100% of breast tissue, but your chance of recurrence after a DM is small. After my mastectomies I did not have chemo, radiation or hormone therapy. Mine original cancer was 7mm stage 1, not in lymph nodes, clear margins but I do have BRCA2 and CHEK2 mutations. You most likely won’t have recurrence. They are not exactly sure why I did. Prayers for you.