CLEVELAND – Aubrey Lewis has been a nurse in university hospitals for four years and, for almost the last year of that time, her work has been dedicated to fighting COVID-19.
“I work with COVID-19 patients on a daily basis,” he said.
He received his first dose of the Modern vaccine around January 20th.
“When I received my vaccine, it initially had no side effects,” he said.
But a few days later, he noticed a swelling in one of his lymph nodes.
“I sat under my armpit to see if there was anything and I felt a lump. It was a little hard, but still mobile, it moved, ”he said.
As a nurse, it made her nervous.
“He was telling me, ‘this is a weird place to have a tender lymph node,’ but as soon as I put two and two together, I just had the COVID vaccine on that side, I thought it was related to that.” she said.
But he did look at it.
“I did some research and it seemed like a lot of women had thought that the swollen lymph node in their armpit area, which is like the armpit area, they thought it was breast cancer or like breast malignancy,” he said. dit.
Dr. Holly Marshall, of the University Hospital’s Department of Radiology and Breast Imaging, said that as more and more people are vaccinated, they receive more calls from worried women that swollen lymph nodes are a sign of breast cancer. .
“We’re asking everyone who gets a screening mammogram if they’ve received the COVID vaccine and, if so, which side and when was the date,” Marshall said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that approximately 11% of people receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will experience swollen lymph nodes after the first dose and up to 16% after the second dose. .
“It means you’re making antibodies to fight infections, so later on, if your body sees a COVID-19 virus, you’ll be able to fight the infection,” Marshall said.
Swollen lymph nodes may appear two to four days after receiving the shot.
“Wait a few weeks and if there is no change, come in and we’ll evaluate it,” Marshall said.
Lewis said that regardless of side effects, she is eager to receive her second dose.
“Upon entering the healthcare field, I knew there would be times like this, to set the pace for everyone else, so I don’t hesitate to get the second dose,” he said.
Marshall said it is important to note that doctors do not suggest that women delay annual mammogram screening and said these tests should begin when they are 40 years old.
This story was originally published by Jessie Schultz on WEWS.