Distant recurrence risk

No. I was not a good reconstruction candidate due to a keloid scarring disorder and my pre-existing neuropathy so the marble-sized, hard, immobile, painless lump was very noticeable on my bony chest. I just wear silicone prosthetics if going out when I want my clothes to fit nicer like work or a nice evening out. When I'm at home, walking dogs, running errands, I just wear a loosely fitting top and don't worry about it. I like comfort. Each person needs to do what is right for them. 🙂

You do ask a good question though. Definitely ask your oncologists. I just googled your question. Breastcancer.org states baseline MRI in case future issues arise, then yearly physical exams and monthly self-exams are considered sufficient. So I guess you can feel any lump through the reconstruction.

cancer.org states: reconstruction rarely hides a return of breast cancer so you should not consider this a big risk when deciding to have breast reconstruction.

Without reconstruction, I had a breast MRI the first couple years then an annual ultrasound for the next 5 years. Luckily, my annual ultrasound was scheduled just two days away when I found the lump so no waiting. Maybe they monitored me more heavily due to my BRCA2 mutation? I hope your reconstruction goes smoothly.

First of all, I am sorry to hear that you did not receive the best information from your original Oncologist. I am in total agreement with you on seeking second and even third opinions when it comes to BC.
I had my double mastectomy in October and will be doing reconstruction with implants in June. This was a very difficult decision and I am concerned about how I will check for reoccurrence with implants in place. Did you have implants when you discovered your reoccurrence? Appreciate any information you are comfortable sharing.

I didn't receive those scores in 2013 when I had my stage 1 cancer, BRCA2+, double mastectomy. Receiving two different percentages indicates to me that it's not an exact science, but an estimate. I didn't do chemo or radiation since it was stage 1 and I had a mastectomy. My oncologist at that time told me my chance of survival with endocrine therapy was 99.6% and without was 99.2% because we caught it so early and mastectomy. He advised me not to take the endocrine therapy that would cause side effects since it would make little difference for me. Fast forward 7 years and my breast cancer was back in my chest wall right behind where the breast tumor was only now 3x as aggressive. My new oncologist said he totally disagrees with the other oncologist's assessment and I should have been on endocrine therapy. Maybe they have better tests now than 10 years ago? My breast surgeon who saw me 15 times during those 7 years and knew I wasn't on endocrine therapy acted surprised I wasn't and said it would have lowered my risk of recurrence by 50%. If I could go back in time I'd take the endocrine therapy. I'm on it now along with kisqali and it's tolerable. Take all precautions. Keep up your self-exams even if you have a mastectomy because I found the recurrent tumor myself. If you have any concerns or confusion about what you're hearing, don't hesitate to get a second opinion from an outside breast oncologist. Prayers for you that you'll be one and done. Although varied, your percentages are very encouraging. Take all preventative measures you can and live your life without worrying about what may or may not happen. I've been stage 4 for 2.5 years now and still get up and look forward to every day. I'm enjoying life. I have a good friend who had stage 1 at 35 years old, had a double mastectomy, not sure what other treatment, but is now 69 with no recurrence. She's living a great life with so many blessings. You will too.