Women who have recently received the COVID-19 vaccine may need to postpone their annual mammogram if they are due to get one soon, say doctors in Utah.
Some women who receive the coronavirus vaccine may experience axillary adenopathy, also called swollen lymph nodes, after vaccination. A doctor in Ohio recently warned that this reaction could be confused with a sign of breast cancer, as many patients find swollen lymph nodes under the same arm they received.
Some women who receive the coronavirus vaccine may experience axillary adenopathy, also called swollen lymph nodes, after vaccination.
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“When someone gets a vaccination, there is an inflammatory response in the arm,” said Dr. Brett Parkinson, medical director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Breast Care Center in Murray, Utah, told local news channel Fox 13. He noted that he and other doctors have done that. swollen lymph nodes seen on numerous screening mammograms of women who have recently received the injection.
This reaction has been reported in women who have received either the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, with Parkinson’s noting that, in his experience over the past few weeks, the cases of lymph node swelling in his patients appear to be similar between the two shots after vaccination. .
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For example, some subjects for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine reported side effects, including swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, chills, muscle aches and joint pain, according to the study results, which noted that these side effects were more common. experienced between the ages of 18 and 55.
In an effort to avoid anxiety among patients, Parkinson’s and other Intermountain Healthcare doctors have encouraged women who have recently received the shot to delay their annual mammogram for at least four weeks after their second dose. Or, he said, patients need to come in before they get the first dose.
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He told Fox 13 that the guidance was in accordance with the Society of Breast Imaging.
“We don’t want these patients to get a false positive if they have this kind of alarm,” Parkinson said.