Hollie Thursby lost her own mother to a form of cancer when she was just 10, now she is determined her sons won’t have to deal with life without her
01:00, 31 Jan 2026Updated 07:44, 31 Jan 2026
Hollie Thursby says she started experiencing pain behind her ear and down the side of her neck when enjoying a couple of glasses of wine(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
A mum was horrified to discover the pain in her neck she got when drinking a glass or two of wine was one of the first signs that she had cancer. Hollie Thursby says she started experiencing pain behind her ear and down the side of her neck when enjoying a couple of glasses of wine following the birth of her second son in December 2024.
The 28-year-old says she could drink lager without any issues, but prosecco would sometimes be painful and wine in particular would ‘really, really hurt’. She was also ‘painfully tired’ – but put the fatigue down to having a toddler and a newborn baby to look after.
Hollie says she first mentioned the symptoms, which also included itchy skin, to doctors at her six-week postnatal check-up in January 2025, but they ‘blamed it on her hormones’. After discovering a lump in the left side of her neck, Hollie was prompted to return to her GP in July 2025 and subsequent tests showed the mum had a large cluster of lymph nodes in the left side of her neck.
Hollie Thursby(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
Hollie had a biopsy taken and on October 23rd 2025, she received the “heartbreaking” diagnosis of stage two Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The NHS lists pain in your neck, armpit or groin when drinking alcohol as a symptom of Hodgkin Lymphoma.
According to Healthline, the pain is caused by swelling in the lymph nodes or disease-affected tissue as a result of blood vessel dilation after consuming alcohol. In November, Hollie started the first of round of chemotherapy treatment.
The primary school teacher says the hardest part of receiving treatment is not being able to look after her two boys, who she desperately doesn’t want to leave to grow up without a mum. Hollie, from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said: “After I had Jack, my second baby, 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.”
Hollie with husband Harry and children Oliver and Jack(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
Hollie said: “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.”
“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.”
After finding the lump in her neck Hollie went back to the doctor and a CT scan was ordered. This revealed that she had a large cluster of lymph nodes in the left side of her neck. Hollie says she was “devastated” when the results of her biopsy came back in October 2025 and she was diagnosed with stage two blood cancer.
Hollie said: “The doctor told me on October 23rd that I have stage two Hodgkin lymphoma. I was heartbroken, absolutely devastated. 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 just felt shocked and heartbroken. We’re all devastated but we all know now and we’ve got a treatment plan, which is what we need.”
Hollie says the oncologist explained to her that the pain in her neck after drinking wine was likely to do with the acidity of the alcohol. Hollie said: “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.”
The mum-of-two says the hardest part of receiving treatment is not being able to look after her two boys. Hollie said: “I’m having chemo and it’s horrendous. 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 their mum, it’s my job to look after them. I keep telling myself, me getting better is me looking after them. 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. 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.”