Doctors Operate on ‘Cancer,’ Overjoyed to Find Tapeworm in Woman’s Brain Instead

R: A woman poses behind an artwork in the shape of a brain on March 27, 2012 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) L: An electron microscope image of a tapeworm's head. "Tapeworm SEM" by Mogana Das Murtey and Patchamuthu Ramasamy (CC BY-SA 3.0 ept.ms/2Bw5evC

Rachel Palma was unwilling to believe the news when doctors told her she had a malignant tumor in her brain.

“My husband and I were both in shock and we just wanted it taken care of,” newlywed Palma told the Today show about her reaction to the MRI scans. “I never really allowed myself to think that it was cancer.”