COVID-19 vaccine can impact mammogram with 'false positive' - New York Post

Getting a mammogram soon after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Be warned: The vaccine might cause your lymph nodes to swell, which may be confused for a sign of breast cancer.

“Getting the COVID-19 vaccine can cause temporary lymph node enlargement and result in a ‘false positive’ mammogram,” Lisa Ann Mullen, MD, explained in an article published by Johns Hopkins Medicine on the topic.

While the reaction is “nothing to worry about” and is a common effect of all vaccinations, it has caused a rise in swollen armpit lymph nodes on multiple types of breast imaging, leading many women to have additional testing, and sometimes even biopsies, as well as “unnecessary stress and anxiety,” Penn Medicine wrote in a post.

Lymph nodes, which are part of the body’s immune system, are thus known to swell in response to any and all vaccines, although increased reports suggest the coronavirus shot is causing “more robust swelling in lymph nodes” than others.

When not induced by a vaccination, swollen underarm lymph nodes can be a sign of breast cancer. 

“If breast cancer moves outside of the breasts, it tends to go to those lymph nodes under the arms because that’s the natural drainage pattern of the lymph fluid inside the breast tissue,” Dean said