As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, Intermountain Health Care is adopting new guidelines for mammograms.  The change is in alignment with new national recommendations.

According to IHC, the national Society of Breast Imaging issued the updated guidelines after radiologists across the country saw an increase in the number of mammograms showing swollen lymph nodes in women who had recently received the vaccine.

“We’re seeing the impact of the vaccine on mammograms,” said Dr. Brett Parkinson, medical director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Breast Care Center. “It’s causing inflammation in the arm pit area. We can see it in those lymph nodes. They’re enlarged by 11 percent after the first dose and 16 percent after the second dose.”

During a normal screening, enlarged lymph nodes would require a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present, he said. “Patients are usually called back in. We don’t want to have to call them back needlessly. It’s costly for the patient and there’s additional patient/doctor exposure.”

Parkinson recommends waiting four to six weeks after the second vaccine to get a mammogram or doing it before getting the vaccine. “Sometimes we see this with the flu vaccine so we’ll ask the patient if they’ve had a flu shot recently but the COVID inflammatory response is so much more severe.”

The inflammation is not the same as finding a lump in the breast, he said. “We do not want to delay a diagnosis of breast cancer. If you have a lump or bloody nipple discharge we will go ahead and do a mammogram.”

If it’s a follow up or screening mammogram waiting is not going to have a negative impact, said Parkinson. “It’s a finite period of time and only affects a small group of women right now. But do not skip your yearly exam. It’s alright postponing it a few weeks but waiting a whole year could make a difference.”

Women 40 years and older should get a mammogram every year, he said. “Breast cancer kills 40,000 to 50,000 women a year. Most of those are needlessly. It’s gone down by 50 percent in mortality of women who get screened.”

Parkinson said it’s important for women to get the vaccine anyway. “When there’s a fire that is raging put that fire out first.”