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‘I has weird pain when I drank wine – it was giving me a deadly cancer warning’ (Image: Kennedy News & Media)
A mum of two is urging others to get their symptoms checked after her strange experiences were the warning sign of a deadly cancer. The 28-year-old began to feel pain when she drank wine, and had incredibly itchy skin, but at her post-natal check-up at the GP, Hollie Thursby was told it was “down to hormones”.
A mother of two is advocating for others to pay attention to unusual symptoms after her own peculiar experiences led to the discovery of a life-threatening cancer. At 28, she began experiencing discomfort when consuming wine and suffered from intense skin itchiness. During her post-natal appointment, Hollie Thursby’s doctor initially attributed these issues to hormonal changes.
However, it wasn’t until she noticed a lump in her neck that she returned to the doctor, leading to a shocking diagnosis. A CT scan unveiled a cluster of lymph nodes, confirming stage two Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer impacting white blood cells, which are crucial for fighting infections.
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Cancer Research UK indicates that Hodgkin lymphoma constitutes approximately 1% of all new cancer diagnoses in the UK, with about 920 women and 1,300 men affected each year.
Currently undergoing chemotherapy, this mother encourages others to seek medical advice for any unusual symptoms to ensure they receive timely treatment.
She explained that at her six-to eight-week check-up after having her second baby, she complained of having “really, really itchy skin”.
Hollie added: “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.”
She said she was “unbearably tired” and would need to nap during the day, which was “not particularly normal”. Once she found the lump, she booked a return appointment.
Hollie found a lump in her neck on the left side (Image: Kennedy News & Media)
Hollie said her blood cancer doctor had only seen a case like hers once more in her 17-year career. She said the doctors explained that wine’s high acidity levels, compared to different types of alcohol, were probably linked to the pain.
According to the NHS, symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma include “pain in the glands in your neck, armpit or groin when you drink alcohol”.
It also lists itchy skin, and a painless lump or swelling, usually in your neck, armpit or groin, which is the “most common symptom”. Other symptoms include a high temperature, night sweats, shortness of breath, or sudden weight loss.
Her mum had also been diagnosed with a rare blood illness when Hollie was just a child. She tragically passed away from myelodysplasia when Hollie was just 10.
“I grew up without a mum and it was horrendous, I can’t do that to the boys,” she said.
Now Hollie is going through chemotherapy, which is “horrendous”, and what’s impacting her the most is not being able to look after her boys. “I’m worried that I’m dying and that I’m going to leave them. I can’t leave them without a mammy.”
According to the NHS, Hodgkin lymphoma mainly affects young people, or those who are aged 75 and over. Between 2021 and 2023, Hodgkin lymphoma claimed the lives of 320 people in the UK.
