The patient initially developed pain in the right axilla, followed by the appearance of a lump, which was clinically and radiologically suspected to represent an abscess. Initial serial imaging and biopsy did not reveal any malignancy. Persistent symptoms and enlargement of the lesion despite multiple courses of antibiotics led to incision and drainage, during which further sampling from the abscess cavity revealed CD30-positive, anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK-positive ALCL). Here, ALK is linked to abscess.