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Hollie Thursby started experiencing unusual neck pain when she drank wine
The 28-year-old mom of two was later diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer
She said pain from drinking alcohol is a little-known side effect of the disease, and now she is undergoing chemotherapy
A young woman discovered she had blood cancer after having a strange reaction to drinking alcohol.
In December 2024, Hollie Thursby — a 28-year-old from Sunderland, England — had just given birth to her son when she started experiencing unusual neck pain when she drank wine, she told Kennedy News and Media, via the Daily Mail.
“After I had [my son] Jack, I’d have a couple of glasses of wine with a meal. I would get pain in my neck and behind my ear on the left side. I could have prosecco and sometimes it would hurt and sometimes it wouldn’t. I could have lager and it wouldn’t hurt but with wine it would really, really hurt.”
Additionally, Thursby found herself feeling very itchy and exhausted.
“I’d been shattered for a long time,” she told the outlet. “I was unbearably tired, I would need to have a nap during the day which is not particularly normal… I complained that I was having really, really itchy skin. My legs were unbearably itchy.”
Kennedy News & Media
Hollie Thursby
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Thursby said she thought the fatigue was simply due to her being a busy mom with a toddler and newborn baby at home. But in January 2025, she decided to see a doctor. However, when she mentioned her symptoms, she said doctors “blamed it on her hormones.”
“I listened to what the GP said and obviously didn’t think anything else of it,” she told the outlet.
Months later, Thursby returned to her doctor after discovering a lump on her neck. They ultimately sent her for a CT scan and biopsy.
In October 2025, she received the “heartbreaking” diagnosis of stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma include swollen lymph nodes, which can cause pain when drinking, fever, night sweats and feelings of lethargy.
“When I spoke to the blood cancer doctor, she said she’s been working for 17 years and has only seen it one other time,” Thursby said. “But pain when you drink alcohol is actually a known side effect of Hodgkin lymphoma. ‘It’s something about the acidity in the wine and not when you drink other alcohol.”
Kennedy News & Media
Hollie Thursby undergoing chemotherapy
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In November, Thrusby, a primary school teacher, started chemotherapy to treat her cancer, which she’ll continue in the coming months. After losing her mother to a blood disorder as a child, she told the outlet she’s now worried about not being in her own children’s lives.
“Not being able to look after the boys is the worst thing about it all,” she said. “I’m worried that I’m dying and that I’m going to leave them. I can’t leave them without a mammy. I grew up without a mum and it was horrendous, I can’t do that to the boys.”
Despite the unknown, Thursby said she has a lot of support and is trying to stay optimistic now that she has a confirmed diagnosis.
“We’re all devastated but we all know now and we’ve got a treatment plan, which is what we need,” she said. “I’m just doing everything I can to get better for them. I keep telling myself this is only temporary, I just need to keep going.”
Read the original article on People