What happens when a doctor stops following the rules and starts listening to her patients?
For Dr. Jessica Peatross (“Dr. Jess”), medical advocacy meant walking away from a stable job in western medicine, surrendering her medical license, and stepping into the fight of her life—not just for herself, but for the patients who had been ignored for far too long.
In this week’s episode of Medical Disruptors, I sat down with Dr. Jess to talk about what it really means to practice medicine in a system that rewards silence and punishes those who speak out. Her story isn’t just about mold toxicity, Lyme disease, or vaccine injury. It’s about medical advocacy—the kind that costs you your title, your paycheck, and in some cases, your reputation.
And it’s exactly what more patients need.
From Hospitalist to Healer
Dr. Jess started her career the “right” way. She went to a respected medical school, trained in internal medicine, and took a hospitalist position that checked all the boxes. But something felt off.
“I was discharging patients on 30 or 40 medications and wondering if I was helping at all,” she says.
That disconnect became impossible to ignore. Patients with chronic illness kept cycling through the hospital system—never really improving, only managing. She began questioning protocols: Why were PPIs prescribed for years when the label said 12 months max? Why were lifestyle, nutrition, and environmental exposures never discussed?
That moment of questioning marked the beginning of her transformation from physician to disruptor.
A System That Doesn’t Want You to Ask Questions
Dr. Jess’s commitment to medical advocacy was clear early on—but the system didn’t want it. When she noted in a patient’s chart that they had been on a PPI for 8 years, the prescribing physician called her team and said she was a liability.
That was her breaking point.
“I walked into my boss’s office the next day and quit,” she says.
She stepped out of conventional medicine without a plan. But what she did have was clarity: she could no longer participate in a system that prioritized protocol over patient outcomes.
Rediscovering Medicine—Outside the System
Leaving was just the beginning. Dr. Jess immersed herself in functional medicine, learning therapies she was never taught in school—ozone therapy, IV nutrients, drainage pathways, and the deep connection between the nervous system and the immune system. She sought out mentorship from naturopathic and integrative leaders, slowly rebuilding her approach to healing from the ground up.
And her patients followed.
What started as hormone consults and gut health cases evolved into some of the most complex chronic illness presentations: mold toxicity, tick-borne infections, and mysterious syndromes that didn’t respond to conventional protocols.
Medical advocacy became more than a principle—it was her mission.
Mold, Lyme, and the Missing Diagnoses
Dr. Jess shares that many of her patients come to her after years—sometimes decades—of medical gaslighting. They’re told their labs are fine. That their symptoms are anxiety. That they just need to try a different antidepressant.
But what she finds is often mold toxicity and chronic Lyme disease at the root.
Standard Lyme testing, she explains, is deeply flawed. During the development of a failed Lyme vaccine in the ’90s, two of the most sensitive antibody bands were removed from testing protocols. Those bands were never restored. The result? Most patients test negative—even when they’re positive.
Mold, too, is grossly underestimated. In Dr. Jess’s practice, mold toxicity is often the trigger that reignites latent infections and sends patients into full-body dysfunction. It’s not just respiratory symptoms—it’s neuroinflammation, hormone chaos, and immune collapse.
Once again, medical advocacy proves essential. Because without someone asking the right questions, these root causes stay hidden—and patients stay sick.
The Price of Protecting Patients
One of the most emotional parts of our conversation is when Dr. Jess talks about losing her medical license.
Under California’s SB 277, doctors were legally allowed to write medical exemptions for children who had experienced vaccine reactions or had health conditions that put them at risk. Dr. Jess followed the law—and issued exemptions.
But the state didn’t want exemptions.
In an aggressive move, the medical board subpoenaed her patient records and revoked her license. Why? Because once the license was gone, all her medical exemptions were automatically void.
Dr. Jess didn’t commit fraud. She didn’t hurt anyone. She practiced medical advocacy under the law. And the system punished her for it.
“I still cry about it,” she says. “Because those kids needed protection. And I did what I was trained to do—first, do no harm.”
A New Model for Medical Advocacy
Today, Dr. Jess continues to serve—through education, coaching, online programs, and her supplement line, Aegis Formulas. She no longer holds a license, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a healer.
In fact, it may have set her free.
Without the constraints of conventional protocols, she’s able to meet patients where they are, address the root causes of their illness, and focus on whole-body healing—especially for those dealing with mold toxicity, Lyme disease, and nervous system dysregulation.
She’s also become a symbol of what medical advocacy looks like when it’s lived out loud.
It’s not just about standing up in a white coat. It’s about standing up when the system tells you to sit down. It’s about choosing your patients over your profession. It’s about putting truth above titles.
Why Her Story Matters
If you’re a patient stuck in the chronic illness maze—especially if you’ve been dismissed, misdiagnosed, or ignored—Dr. Jess’s story matters.
It reminds us that there are providers who see the full picture. That medical advocacy is still alive, even when the system tries to bury it. That your experience is valid. That healing is possible.
And maybe most importantly—it reminds us that the people who challenge the system are the ones we need most.