CLEVELAND – Aubrey Lewis has been a nurse in university hospitals for four years, and almost the last year of that time has devoted her work to the fight against COVID-19.
“I work with COVID-19 patients on a daily basis,” she said.
She received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine around January 20.
“When I got my vaccine, I had no side effects at all at first,” she said.
But after a few days, she noticed swelling in one of her lymph nodes.
“I felt under my armpit to see if there was anything and I felt a bump. It was a bit difficult, but still mobile, it moved around, ‘she said.
As a nurse she got nervous.
“I was like, ‘That’s a weird place to have a sensitive lymph node,’ but as soon as I got two and two together – that I just got the COVID vaccine on that side – I thought that was it. was related, ”she said.
But she did look it up.
“I did some research and it seemed that a lot of women thought that the swollen lymph node in their armpit area, which resembles their armpit area, they thought it was breast cancer or some type of breast cancer,” she said.
Dr. Holly Marshall of the University Hospitals’ Radiology and Bust Imaging Department said that as more and more people get vaccinated, they are getting more phone calls from women concerned that their swollen lymph nodes are a sign of breast cancer.
“We ask everyone who has a screening mammogram whether they got the COVID vaccine and, if so, which side and when the date was,” said Marshall.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that about 11% of people who receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will experience swollen lymph nodes after their first dose, and this increases to 16% after the second dose.
“It means you make antibodies to fight infection, so if your body sees a COVID-19 virus later, you can fight the infection,” said Marshall.
The swollen lymph nodes can appear anywhere from two to four days after you receive the injection.
“Wait a few weeks and if there’s no change come in and we’ll evaluate,” said Marshall.
Lewis said that regardless of the side effects, she would like to receive her second dose.
“When I got into healthcare, I knew there were going to be times like this to set the pace for everyone else, so I don’t hesitate to get the second dose,” she said.
Marshall said it’s important to note that doctors aren’t suggesting that women delay their annual mammogram screening and said those screenings should begin when they are 40 years old.
This story was originally published by Jessie Schultz on WEWS.