A doctor explains why they are seeing some false returns on women getting mammograms after having the Covid vaccine.
The covid-19 vaccination is causing some women panic when they receive their mammogram results.
News 12 joeli poole spoke with a local physician who explains what's going on a side effect of the covid-19 vaccine is the swelling of lymph nodes which can mirror the signs of breast cancer during a routine scan.
Dr. collier king , a radiologist at chi memorial hospital, explains why it's not something to panic about.
King " it's a normal thing, it means the vaccine is working.
It means it's doing its job and your body is creating an immune response to it.
The problem with that is that it shows up on imaging : cts, mris, and mammograms."
Health officials say swollen lymph nodes or local inflammatory response occurs in 15 percent of people who receive the covid-19 vaccine.
King "part of that virus is injected into your body so you can create antibodies to that specific part of that virus.
If you get injected on that side of the body those particular lymph nodes are going to swell in certain cases.
Although physicians do not want women to avoid their mammogram screenings, they do suggest pushing back the imaging if you recently received the vaccination.
King "we would want to schedule that mammogram 8 weeks after their first dose or 4 weeks after their second dose.
Just so we don't have those false negatives that can cause anxiety.
If you have received the covid vaccine and have a mammogram already scheduled , inform your doctor that you have been vaccinated.
In chattanooga joeli poole news 12
Some mammograms may detect enlarged lymph nodes after women get the COVID-19 vaccine.
