Hi JoanE,
My recurrence was to the internal mammary nodes behind the sternum. They lit up on a PET scan but had to have an MRI to identify exactly the recurrence was located. A fine needle biopsy confirmed the recurrence. I had chemo and then radiation. Like you I was concerned about the damage. I had a type of radiation called IMRT that was supposed to be more pin-pointed and reduce the chance of damage to other areas. There are other types of radiation that are newer (proton beam radiation), but some insurance companies may not cover it.
Donna