(Dennis Thompson/ Health Day) — One side effect of COVID-19 vaccination is creating undue fear among women, causing them to worry that they might have breast cancer.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can cause lymph nodes to swell, particularly those in the armpit on the side where the shot was received, experts say.
Some women are feeling these armpit lymph nodes and mistaking them for breast lumps, according to a recent report.
Further, these swollen lymph nodes can show up in a mammogram even if women can’t feel them. That prompted the Society of Breast Imaging to recommend that women postpone any mammography scheduled within four weeks after their final COVID-19 shot.
Post-vaccine lymph node swelling is common and harmless, but doctors are concerned it could cause undue fear among women. It could also trigger a false positive on a mammogram, upping the need for unnecessary further testing, said Dr. Brett Parkinson, medical director of Intermountain Medical Center Breast Care Center in Murray, Utah. (…)