Surgeon's instinct saves Maryland woman's life after deadly diagnosis

Lynda Bush, a great-grandmother from Maryland, thought she was dying after doctors told her she had stage 4 cancer that had spread to her lungs and brain. 

What was really going on would shock everyone, including her care team. 

Diagnosed with lung cancer

It all started with a blinding headache and moments of confusion. 

"My granddaughter said, 'Nanny, I think you need to go to the hospital,'" Bush recalled. "I didn't know what she meant. I think I was partly out of it then." 

Bush's conditions quickly worsened. She couldn't form words, and her speech began to slur. At the hospital, scans revealed a mass on her brain. 

Emergency room doctors diagnosed her with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. 

"They said it had metastasized from her lungs to her brain," said Amy Walls, Bush's daughter. "We could almost see her fading away in that bed. Every day was worse than the day before."

Doctors started Bush on steroids to reduce swelling, but there was no urgency to operate. Meanwhile, Bush's family pushed for transfer to MedStar Franklin Square. That decision may have saved her life. 

Neurosurgeon diagnoses infection 

That's where neurosurgeon Dr. Jugal Shah stepped in. 

"Infection can have the same appearance as a tumor," Dr. Shah said. "But everything I saw made me highly suspicious this was an infection."

Within days, Bush was taken into surgery. As Dr. Shah opened her skull, his suspicion was confirmed. 

"As soon as we opened the brain, yellow pus came out," he said. "I knew my suspicions were immediately correct." 

There was no tumor and no cancer. Instead, it was a brain abscess, a dangerous infection that had been masquerading as stage 4 cancer. 

Where did the abscess come from?

Bush had been having issues with a front tooth. 

"I did have a tooth here in the front that I was having work on," she recalled. 

Tests showed the infection was caused by Streptococcus intermedius, a type of bacteria normally found in the mouth. In rare cases, it can travel through the bloodstream and lodge in the brain. 

"We would call this an odontogenic brain abscess," said Dr. Shah. "It originates from the teeth."

Left untreated, it could have been fatal. 

Bush spent two weeks recovering in the hospital and in rehab. Now, she's back home and in good spirits. 

"I'm doing a whole lot better," she said. "I don't use well– I almost said a stroller but I never used a stroller! I meant a walker."

She also has a new source of joy: Her great-granddaughter Margaret. 

"She is just a joy. The happiest baby," Lynda beamed.

But the trauma of being misdiagnosed with a terminal illness still lingers.

"I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my family," she said. "They were like advocates for my care."

Her daughter, Amy, said speaking up made all the difference.

"You have to question things," she said. "Why are you doing that? What is that for? It's very important to be there for your family member."