NORFOLK, Va. — New medical guidance recommends that women should avoid scheduling mammograms around the time they receive COVID-19 vaccinations because the shots cause lymph nodes to swell, falsely mimicking a warning sign of breast cancer.
The guidance, from the Society of Breast Imaging, suggests that women get mammograms before their first COVID-19 vaccine shot or four to six weeks after their second dose.
Doctors noticed that a number of women being called back for further screening because of swollen lymph nodes had recently received a COVID-19 vaccine.
The women would feel the swollen lymph nodes after their COVID-19 vaccines, go to their doctor, and undergo additional testing to rule out breast cancer, said Dr. Keith Newbrough, a breast cancer radiologist with the Sentara Cancer Network and Hampton Roads Radiology Associates.
