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Holly Thursby started experiencing unusual neck pain after drinking alcohol
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The 28-year-old mother-of-two was later diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer
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She said the pain from drinking was a little-known side effect of the disease and she is now undergoing chemotherapy
A young woman discovered she had blood cancer after experiencing strange reactions after drinking alcohol.
In December 2024, Hollie Thursby, 28, from Sunderland, UK, passed daily mail.
“Now that I have [my son] Jack, I drink a few glasses of wine with my meals. I would have pain in my neck and behind my ear on the left side. I can drink prosecco and sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn’t. I could drink beer and it wouldn’t hurt, but drinking wine would really, really hurt. “
Additionally, Thursby found herself feeling very itchy and tired.
“I’ve been broken for a long time,” she told the outlet. “I was unbearably tired and needed to take naps during the day, which was not normal…I complained that my skin was really, really itchy. My legs were unbearably itchy.”
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Holly Thursby
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Thursby said she thinks the fatigue is just because she’s 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 the GP and obviously didn’t think of anything else,” she told the outlet.
A few months later, Thursby noticed a lump on her neck and went to see a doctor. They eventually sent her for a CT scan and biopsy.
In October 2025, she was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, which was “heartbreaking.” According to the American Cancer Society, symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma include swollen lymph nodes, which may cause pain when drinking alcohol, fever, night sweats and drowsiness.
“When I spoke to the blood cancer doctor, she said she had only seen it once in 17 years of practice,” Thursby said. “But pain when drinking alcohol is actually a known side effect of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ‘It has to do with the acidity in the wine, not when you drink other alcohol.'”
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Holly Thursby undergoing chemotherapy
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Thrusby, a primary school teacher, began receiving chemotherapy to treat her cancer last November and will continue to do so in the coming months. She lost her mother to a blood disease as a child and told the outlet she now fears she won’t be able to fit into her children’s lives.
“Not being able to take care of the kids is the worst thing,” she said. “I was worried that I was going to die, worried that I would leave them. I couldn’t leave them, without a mum. I grew up without a mum and it was horrible, I couldn’t do this to my children.”
Despite the unknown situation, Thursby said she has received a lot of support and is trying to stay positive after her diagnosis.
“We are all heartbroken, but we all know now and we have a treatment plan in place that is exactly what we need,” she said. “I just try my best to be better for them. I keep telling myself this is temporary and I just have to keep moving forward.”
Read the original article on People
