Sharp Neck Pain After Wine: Woman in Her 20s Diagnosed with Blood Cancer

Stabbing Pain in Neck and Behind Ear After Drinking Wine
Mistaken for Parenting Fatigue... Diagnosed with Blood Cancer

A woman in her twenties from the United Kingdom, who experienced sharp pain in her neck and behind her ear every time she drank wine, was eventually diagnosed with blood cancer.

Wine. Pixabay

According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, Holly Susby, a 28-year-old elementary school teacher living in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, began experiencing unusual symptoms after giving birth to her second child in December 2024. She said that whenever she drank about two glasses of wine with meals, she would feel stabbing pain on the left side of her neck and behind her left ear.

Susby said, "When I drank wine with meals after giving birth, I felt pain on the left side of my neck and behind my ear," adding, "I was fine when I drank beer, but the pain was severe when I drank wine."

In addition to neck pain, she also suffered from severe itching and extreme fatigue. In particular, her legs would itch unbearably at night, but she attributed the fatigue to taking care of her two children, both under the age of two.

Susby first reported her symptoms to a doctor in January last year, but the medical staff suggested that they might be due to hormonal changes. She said, "At the 6- to 8-week postnatal checkup, I complained of itchy skin, but I was told it was probably due to hormones," adding, "I believed them and did not suspect anything else."

However, in July of the same year, she felt a lump on the left side of her neck and returned to the hospital. A subsequent CT scan revealed several lymph nodes clustered in her neck, and after a biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma on October 23 last year.

According to the National Health Service (NHS), pain in the neck, armpits, or groin when drinking alcohol is one of the known symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma. It is thought that alcohol-induced vasodilation causes swelling and pain in lymph nodes or tissues affected by the disease.

Susby said her hematology specialist explained that "the pain after drinking wine may be related to the acidic components in alcohol." She added, "The doctor said that in 17 years of practice, they had only seen one other case like mine," and emphasized, "Although rare, pain when drinking alcohol is a known symptom of Hodgkin lymphoma."

Susby began chemotherapy immediately after her diagnosis. She said, "I was unbearably tired for a long time," adding, "I had to sleep during the day, but I thought it was just because I was raising my children."

Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that develops in white blood cells that fight infection, and its most common symptom is a painless lump in the neck, armpit, or groin. Other symptoms may include pain when drinking alcohol, fever, night sweats, and itching. The main treatments are chemotherapy and radiation therapy.