A MUM-OF-TWO has told how a pain triggered by sipping wine and itchy legs were the only early warning signs of her deadly cancer.
Hollie Thursby, from Sunderland, suddenly began experiencing pain behind her ear and down the side of her neck when enjoying a couple of glasses following the birth of her second son Jack in December 2024.
The 28-year-old claimed she could drink lager without any issues, but prosecco would sometimes be painful and wine in particular would ‘really, really hurt’.
After flagging the symptoms to doctors at her six-week postnatal check-up in January 2025, she said they ‘blamed it on her hormones’.
It was only after she discovered a lump in the left side of her neck last July, that she booked an appointment with her GP, who ordered her a CT scan.
It found she had a large cluster of lymph nodes in the left side of her neck.
READ MORE ON HODGKIN LYMPHOMA
Further tests then revealed the ‘heartbreaking’ truth in October – she had stage two Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer that starts in the white blood cells.
Now Hollie, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, is urging others not to dismiss any unusual symptoms and always trust your gut.
Recalling her horrifying ordeal, she said: “After I had 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.”
She added: “When I went to my GP for the six to eight week check after I’d had my second baby, I complained that I was having really, really itchy skin.
“My legs were unbearable itchy, on a nighttime particularly.
“They just said that it was probably down to hormones, I listened to what the GP said and obviously didn’t think anything else of it.
“I’d been shattered for a long time.
“[I felt] painfully tired but I had two babies under two so I just put that down to being a busy mum and having a newborn and a toddler.
“I was unbearably tired, I would need to have a nap during the day which is not particularly normal.
“I just put it down to that [being a busy mum] and then in July I found a lump in the side of my neck so I went back to the GP.”
Hollie said that after her Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, medics told her that her neck pain was likely due to the acidity of the alcohol.
She added: “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.
“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.”
Hodgkin’s lymphoma affects around 1,950 people each year in the UK.
Common symptoms of the cancer include having a painless swelling in the armpits, neck and groin, heavy night sweating, extreme weight loss, itching, shortness of breath and coughing.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is most common between the ages of 20 and 24, and 75 and 79.
It has been linked to people with lowered immunity, a family history of the condition, smokers and those who are overweight.
Hollie said the hardest part of receiving treatment is not being able to look after her two boys.
“I’m having chemo and it’s horrendous,” she said.
“I can’t look after the boys which is what is affecting me the most.
“Thankfully they are so young they don’t know I’m poorly which is a blessing for them.
“I’ve got loads of support but for me personally, not being able to look after the boys is the worst thing about it all.
“I’m worried that I’m dying and that I’m going to leave them. I can’t leave them without a mammy.”
She added: “My mum died when I was 10 of something called myelodysplasia which is a blood disorder, it’s like a form of blood cancer.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that my mum had something now I’ve got this.
“I grew up without a mum and it was horrendous, I can’t do that to the boys.
“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.”
What is Hodgkin lymphoma?
HODGKIN lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes.
It is not common, with around 2,100 people diagnosed every year in the UK.
Hodgkin lymphoma can develop at any age, but it mostly affects people between 20 and 40 years of age and those over 75. Slightly more men than women are affected.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, on the other hand, is diagnosed in 13,000 new patients per year. It is more common as you get older, with over a third of cases diagnosed in people over the age of 75.
In Hodgkin lymphoma, B-lymphocytes (a particular type of lymphocyte) start to multiply in an abnormal way and begin to collect in certain parts of the lymphatic system, such as the lymph nodes (glands).
The affected lymphocytes lose their infection-fighting properties, making a person more vulnerable to infection.
Like all cancers, symptoms vary and can be vague. However, patients usually notice swelling in one or more lymph nodes.
This can be in any area of the body, but is often in the neck, armpit or groin.
The swelling is usually painless, although some people find that it aches.
Some people with Hodgkin lymphoma also have other more general symptoms. These can include:
- Night sweats
- Unintentional weight loss
- A high temperature (fever)
- A persistent cough or feeling of breathlessness
- Persistent itching of the skin all over the body
Source: Cancer Research UK and the NHS.
