Local Nurse Beats Massive Brain Tumor After Receiving Quality Care at Two Texas Health Hospitals

ROCKWALL, TEXAS, Nov. 19, 2024 - Erica Cash had a lot on her mind - her dream of becoming a nurse for example - but paying bills and succeeding in nursing school clouded her vision with doubt. The frequent, nagging headaches didn't help either. Waking up from a seizure, with her husband shaking her and shouting her name, Cash realized she was dealing with much more than stress.

After witnessing her early morning seizure in their Forney home, Cash's husband called 911, and paramedics took her to Texas Health Rockwall where a CT scan captured 3D images of her brain.

Understanding a neurological diagnosis

The scan revealed that 42-year-old, who served as a unit secretary in Texas Health Rockwall's Emergency Department (ED), had a tumor the size of a tennis ball - a meningioma, to be exact. It develops from the thin layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord.

Each year, an estimated 90,000 peoplein the U.S. are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor.

In her case, the tumor was causing brain swelling, increased pressure and the seizure, said Yoo Joo Hwang, D.O., an emergency medicine physician on the Texas Health Rockwall medical staff. Along with dull, throbbing headaches, 20% to 50%of meningioma patients also report symptoms of seizures.

"If Mrs. Cash didn't receive the necessary treatment, it could lead to brain damage and even death," Hwang said. "She needed immediate treatment. We needed to extricate the tumor, and we needed to stop the swelling in her brain."

Hwang decided she needed care available at Texas Health Dallas.

Receiving specialized neurological care

"Texas Health Dallas is a regional destination for high-acuity neuroscience services," said Chris York, FACHE, and hospital president. "Our neuroscience program offers advanced technologies and compassionate care for North Texans like Mrs. Cash. With a multidisciplinary team of caregivers, including physicians on the medical staff, nurses and therapists, we're give individuals the care they need and deserve."

Cash's care team removed the tumor through open brain surgery, which required surgeons to temporarily remove a small piece of the skull bone, called a bone flap, to access the brain and the tumor, said Alejandro Magadan, M.D., a vascular neurologist on the Texas Health Dallas medical staff.

"The intricate surgery involves the largest portion of the brain known as the cerebrum, which controls so much of our daily functions, from movement and speech, to regulating body temperature," added Magadan, who also serves as the hospital's Neurosciences medical director.

After removing all of Cash's tumor, a sample was taken for biopsy, and her bone flap was closed. Waking up after an eight-hour surgery, Cash received welcoming news.

Fulfilling dreams after quality care

"My meningioma was noncancerous, and that was such a relief," she said. "My nurses were wonderful. They gave Timmy the tumor a farewell party, signing a card and everything. We were more than happy to see him go."

Cash feels her patient journey was powerful and purposeful.

After recovering and finishing nursing school, she earned the Future Nurse Leader award, and now serves as a licensed vocational nurse in Texas Health Rockwall's ED.

"My experience gives me a stronger connection with my patients, because I've been in that hospital bed, too," Cash said. "I never thought I'd be able to put on scrubs and walk into that ER as somebody's nurse. Every time that patient call light goes off, I enter the room with a smile on my face, no matter what."

* Doctors on the medical staffs practice independently and are not employees or agents of Texas Health hospitals or Texas Health Resources. © 2024 Texas Health Resources.

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