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PHOENIX – Banner Imaging is seeing more and more women concerned about their health after developing swollen lymph nodes in the breast area.
Doctors say the recent spike is actually linked to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“My first thought was, it’s a lump. It’s a lump on the side of my breast. So my brain immediately went there,” says Liz Melander, who had an enlarged lymph node.
Melander was thinking of her children right now, hoping it wasn’t a sign of breast cancer.
“I started to feel tenderness, and then I was able to palpate an enlarged lymph node, or at least what I assumed was a lymph node. It looked like the size of a blueberry, ”says Melander.
Melander asked a nurse practitioner to examine the lump after treating it for almost a week. She mentioned that she recently received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Do you think it could possibly be related? I haven’t heard of this side effect yet. She said she heard about it and immediately when she said I was thinking, ‘Okay, we We’re fine, no need to panic, ”says Melander.
This side effect is not specific to the COVID vaccine, but Banner Imaging says it is more common than what they have seen historically with other vaccines.
“When we do an ultrasound, we see a typical appearance of inflamed or reactive lymph nodes. But yes, their size can vary … just like the spectrum from lacking lymph nodes, to small, to larger lymph nodes – which can vary, ”says Dr Threasa Frouge, chief medical officer of Banner Imaging.
Dr Frouge says it’s a sign the body is working to make antibodies and develop resistance. Enlarged lymph nodes should only last a few days or weeks before going away.
“Obviously, what we always want to make sure is that it’s not cancer or lymphoma,” says Dr Frouge.
Early detection is essential. Dr Frouge recommends that anyone with breast disease get examined and let the provider know if you have recently received the COVID-19 vaccine. Banner Imaging also follows new guidelines for mammography.
“People who come for their tests, if you can schedule it before the vaccine or four weeks after it’s optimal … because then we don’t have to worry about seeing the lymph nodes,” explains Dr Frouge.
Banner Imaging says it has seen a drop in the number of patients who come for their annual mammograms due to the pandemic. They stress that it is a safe environment and that we should not wait.
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