After receiving a vaccination, some people experienced breast soreness. Additionally, mammography screenings started to show changes in the size and shape of the lymph nodes in the armpit (axillary area).
Although it may feel that the COVID-19 pandemic’s last several years have dragged on, infection and vaccine are still relatively new concepts, and fresh information about the virus and its full consequences is discovered every day. In late 2020, vaccines to combat the virus were introduced, promising to lessen severe infection. However, the vaccine prompted even more concerns for other people.
Women who had received the COVID-19 immunizations started complaining breast soreness or swelling and pain near their armpits in the months following the vaccines’ availability. This pain frequently didn’t start until after the immunisation, and it typically affected the breast on the same side of the body as the injection.
When this side effect was originally noted, it was thought that a typical immunological response to the vaccine was to blame. Even while this side effect can occur with other vaccinations, it was observed more commonly following COVID-19 inoculation. The occurrence of this side effect initially aroused concern because swelling of the lymph nodes close to the breasts is unusual and not typically a sign of breast cancer.
The size and shape of lymph nodes behind the armpit may vary after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Women were initially advised to postpone mammograms and other breast cancer screenings by 4 to 6 weeks following immunisation to reduce unwarranted anxiety regarding this adverse effect. But it soon became apparent that the swelling that appeared after the shot would take weeks to go down.
In one case study from Japan, a lady reported that six months after the swelling first manifested, the lymph node in her breast on the side she had received the vaccination was still swollen. It is now advised against postponing mammograms and other screenings after receiving a COVID-19 immunisation due to the risk involved in waiting or delaying routine breast examinations and screenings.
Nevertheless, don’t be shocked if you’re questioned during a screening mammogram about whether you received a COVID-19 vaccine and when. This is because earlier screenings may have revealed a change in the size or shape of your lymph node, which the radiology technician may have seen. To establish that any abnormalities are connected to the immunisation and not because of any other issues, further photos might also be gathered.
With the naked eye, you or your doctor probably won’t be able to distinguish between breast cancer, adverse effects of a vaccine, and other causes of breast pain. Breast soreness or a sore armpit could be caused by a number of other conditions since breast cancer sometimes develops with little to no symptoms. Imaging tests are typically performed to look at what is happening beneath the skin of your breast tissue.
After your vaccination, breast and underarm pain may last for several months, but it should gradually go away. Consult a doctor to rule out other explanations if you experience pain or soreness that isn’t going away or is becoming worse after receiving a vaccination. Your immune system responds to the COVID-19 vaccine, defending you against COVID-19 infection. Other negative effects, including as pain in your armpit’s lymph nodes, may result from this reaction.
In particular, if a mammography is performed soon after the vaccine, women may be more conscious of this pain or lymph node alterations. Do not postpone breast cancer tests because of your COVID-19 vaccination; instead, tell the mammography technician when and which arm you had the vaccine.
Choose to receive your COVID-19 vaccination in the arm across from the site of your previous breast cancer if you have a history of breast cancer and don’t want a false alert.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
