Getting a mammogram or other cancer check soon after a COVID-19 vaccination? Be sure to tell the doctor about the shot to avoid false alarm over a temporary side effect.
That's the advice from cancer experts and radiologists. Sometimes lymph nodes, especially in the armpit, swell after the vaccinations.
It's a normal reaction by the immune system but one that might be mistaken for cancer if it shows up on a mammogram or other scan. “We need to get the word out,” said Dr.
Melissa Chen, a radiologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston who recently had to reassure a frightened patient who sought cancer testing because of an enlarged lymph node.