What women need to know

CLEVELAND, Ohio. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Annual mammograms save lives by detecting cancer in earlier, more treatable stages. And the COVID vaccine, of course, will save lives, preventing many people from receiving and spreading the virus. But there is a surprising side effect of the COVID vaccine that you will want to know about – especially if you have a scheduled mammogram soon.

During a mammogram, technicians imagine not only her breast, but also the area near her arms. At this time, some women who have had the COVID vaccine have an unexpected reaction.

“Not everyone, but some patients will see enlarged or swollen lymph nodes on mammograms,” said Holly Marshall, MD, head of the breast imaging division at Cleveland University Hospital Medical Center.

The US Centers for Disease Control reports that 11% of patients receiving COVID vaccine have swollen lymph nodes after the first dose. Sixteen percent have swelling after the second. Swelling begins about two to three days after the vaccine. That’s why doctors say it’s important for women to tell their providers if they’ve had a vaccine recently, what arm it was in, and if it was the first or second dose.

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“It gives us information to help us read mammography. Other things, such as cancer, can cause swollen lymph nodes. So that’s why we want to know the history of the vaccine, “explained Dr. Marshall.

Doctors say the swelling should go away in four to six weeks and is the body’s normal response to the vaccine.

“If the lymph nodes have not shrunk in about two months, then it would be time to check it, come and do an ultrasound and make sure nothing happens,” Dr. Marshall said.

The CDC reports cases of swollen lymph nodes in patients who have had the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine.

Doctors say that sometimes patients have felt swelling under the arm, and in other cases, swollen lymph nodes are detected on mammography, but are not felt by the patient.