WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — If you're planning to get a COVID-19 vaccine soon and also looking to schedule a mammogram, doctors have some important information for you.
Mary Watkins feels strongly about getting her yearly mammogram on time and equally passionate about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
She recently found out the timing of the vaccine can affect mammogram reads. She plans to spread the word.
Dr. Courtney Hoey, a breast radiologist at Good Samaritan Medical Center, said they always look for secondary signs of breast cancer during annual mammograms.
"We don't just look at abnormalities within your breast tissue," she said. "We look at things like the skin and lymph nodes in the underarm area."
She said a COVID-19 vaccine can cause swelling in those lymph nodes. She's seeing it firsthand.
"About 10 to 15% of the people will have a temporary swelling of the lymph nodes under the arm they received the vaccine in," Hoey said.
Hoey said the swelling is a good thing, because it shows immune response to the vaccine.
She said it tends to be under the arm in which the COVID-19 shot was given.
Her advice is to weigh it all.
"We are not really encouraging delaying the vaccine because that's obviously the harder of the two things to get at this point," she said.
Timing is key as long as there are no breast issues, including new symptoms, pain, lumps or nipple discharge.
If you have concerns or have waited for a longer period since your last mammogram, she recommends coming in for it. They'll deal with vaccine swelling issues -- likely it would just mean a follow up ultrasound.