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DENVER (CBS4) – Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a relief for most people, but some women are discovering a concerning side effect of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The vaccine can cause lymph nodes to swell and that may reflect the signs of breast cancer.
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Even a radiologist specializing in breast imaging was alarmed.
“I panicked, I admit it at first,” said Dr. Bridget Rogers, radiologist at Solis Mammography.
She knew that swollen lymph nodes could be a sign of breast cancer. So she was shocked at the beginning of January.
“I had a large, visible, painful lump,” she told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.
The day before, Rogers had her second COVID-19 shot, the Pfizer vaccine. She knew one possible side effect was enlarged lymph nodes.
“I tried to reassure myself by remembering that this is, in fact, a sign that the vaccine was doing what it was supposed to do, namely activate your immune system,” she said.
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Rogers admits she took a look with an ultrasound.
“It’s always different to be on the patient side of the experience,” she said. “It was a sigh of relief the second day when it started getting better than getting worse.”
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Rogers isn’t alone. She showed CBS4 the mammograms of another doctor who had received a vaccine.
So this is last year. These are the lymph nodes that are enlarged this year. “
“I’ve tried to warn women ahead of time,” said Dr. Stephanie Miller, a breast surgeon and medical director of the breast program at Rose Medical Center.
“We don’t want to prevent anyone from participating in the vaccine process,” Miller said.
She said breast cancer has not slowed down during the pandemic. She tells women to have their mammograms done and lets the mammography center know if you’ve recently had a vaccine.
“So we can have the correct explanation for what we see,” she said.
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Miller said postponing mammograms has had repercussions this year.
“Women develop and present breast cancer a little later in the game, and we want to minimize that as much as possible,” Miller said.
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She doesn’t want women to panic. Her message is that you will get a COVID-19 vaccination and a mammogram, both of which are important for your health.