The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka
The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka

Dr. Josh Axe, Dr. Will Cole & Taylor Dukes: Toxoplasma Gondii Is Linked to Brain Tumors

September 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Tumor That Shrank Before Surgery

Taylor Dukes was a functional medicine nurse practitioner with a thriving practice, two young children, and zero symptoms when she decided to get a preventative full-body MRI in 2022. She opened the results herself through the app — no doctor called first. The scan showed a plum-sized mass in her right frontal lobe. Stage three brain tumor. She had no headaches, no seizures, no neurological deficits. The tumor had been growing for years, and her immune system had been compensating the entire time.

Instead of panicking, she slowed down. She knew the tumor had been building for years — disease never happens overnight, only the diagnosis does. She spent five months before surgery doing everything she could to prepare her body. High-dose intravenous vitamin C, up to 75 grams. Methylene blue infusions followed by a red light helmet thirty minutes later to activate the mitochondria. Molecular hydrogen. Hyperbaric oxygen. She tracked her glucose-ketone index by pricking her finger daily and maintained therapeutic ketosis. She treated healing like a full-time job.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:00) **Taylor Dukes' Brain Tumor Discovery** - Functional medicine nurse practitioner Taylor Dukes describes finding a plum-sized brain tumor on a preventative full-body MRI scan with zero symptoms
  • 2 (04:30) **Taylor's Pre-Surgery Integrative Protocol** - Taylor details the five-month integrative approach she took before brain surgery, including metabolic ketosis, IV therapies, and therapy stacking
  • 3 (06:36) **Toxoplasma Gondii and the Parasite Connection** - Taylor tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that the International Journal of Cancer links to brain tumors, which she believes was a major contributing factor
  • 4 (07:48) **The Tumor Shrank Before Surgery** - Taylor's tumor shrank by half during her five-month integrative preparation, shocking her neurosurgeon
  • 5 (10:34) **Dr. Will Cole on Mystery Illnesses and Missed Diagnoses** - Dr. Will Cole explains why patients with brain fog, fatigue, and joint pain are told their labs are normal when conventional testing misses the real issues
  • 6 (13:34) **The Gut Lining and Leaky Gut Mechanism** - Dr. Cole explains how environmental toxins like glyphosate and microplastics destroy gut lining, triggering autoimmune cross-reactivity
  • 7 (16:48) **Testing for Mold and Biotoxins** - Dr. Cole outlines the specific blood and urine tests needed to identify mold and mycotoxin exposure

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Josh Axe Will Cole

Show Notes

  • You can eat clean, do everything right, and still miss a brain tumor growing for years. Taylor Dukes found hers on a routine full-body scan, then shrank it in half before surgery using metabolic ketosis, methylene blue, and red light. Gary sits down with Taylor, Dr. Will Cole, and Dr. Josh Axe to break down what standard labs miss: hidden parasites, mold toxicity, and stealth infections quietly overloading the immune system.


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    Timestamps

    00:00 - Intro of Show

    01:14 - Full-body scan finds a brain tumor

    04:35 - Ketosis, methylene blue, and red light

    07:06 - Toxoplasma gondii parasite found in blood

    07:41 - Tumor shr

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