Do you get a mammogram shortly after taking COVID-19? Be warned: the vaccine may cause swollen lymph nodes, which can be confusing for a sign of breast cancer.
“Getting the COVID-19 vaccine can cause a temporary enlargement of the lymph nodes and can lead to a ‘false positive’ mammogram,” explained Lisa Ann Mullen, MD, in an article published by Johns Hopkins Medicine on the subject. Enlargement can cause “your mammogram to look abnormal even when you are well and there are no signs of cancer.”
While the reaction is “nothing to worry about” and is a common effect of all vaccinations, it has caused an increase in swollen armpit lymph nodes on several types of breast imaging, prompting many women to have additional tests and sometimes , even biopsies, as well as “unnecessary stress and anxiety,” Penn Medicine wrote in a post.
To avoid further testing or unnecessary suffering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people ask their doctors how long they should wait before having a mammogram after vaccination. “Some experts recommend having a mammogram before you are vaccinated or waiting four to six weeks after you are given the vaccine,” the CDC added.
The reason for the vaccine-induced swelling is quite natural.
“The entire purpose of the vaccine is to get the immune system to respond to any vaccine agent,” diagnostic radiologist Laura Dean, MD, told Cleveland Clinic’s nonprofit academic medical center for an article about the potentially alarming side effect. . It is known that the lymph nodes, which are part of the body’s immune system, swell in response to all vaccines, although increased reports suggest that the coronavirus shot causes “more robust swellings in the lymph nodes” than others. The symptom appears to disappear in “a few days to a few weeks,” Dean said.
When not induced by a vaccination, the lymph nodes in the swollen arms can be a sign of breast cancer.
“If breast cancer moves outside the breasts, it tends to go to those lymph nodes under the arms because it is the natural drainage pattern of lymph fluid inside the breast tissue,” Dean said. “It’s a very integrated system, so it’s one of the areas we’re looking at closely.”
The situation is very predictable, but the failure of the authorities and medical staff to inform the public about it has many people in a spiral – convinced that they have cancer after expecting routine check-ups.
Isabella’s reporter Shannon Melero’s mother was left “mentally planning her own funeral,” after being informed that something “most likely benign” had been “found” following a recent mammogram. However, the scare turned out to be a false sign triggered by receiving the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine days earlier, Melero reported.
The impact of the vaccine on mammograms is not the only topic the medical industry has barely warned the public about. Many also report that the vaccine caused them more difficult and, in some cases, unforeseen periods.
“It was not a symptom that was on the list,” Katharine Lee, Ph.D., a fellow researcher at the University of Washington, Verge, said she had an unusual menstrual cycle shortly after the vaccine was given. In response, she jointly launched a formal study on the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on the menstrual cycle.
“It’s not something some people think about,” she said. “It’s not part of their daily experience. I think a lot of that is related to that history and the bias around who can decide what is important to consider as a side effect. ”