It's not often the traditional medical fraternity embraces those who punt the benefits of positive thinking as a tool to fight disease. But a Cape Town ad executive who won a seven-year battle with brain cancer then developed a digital platform that helps people beat the disease through positive thinking has cracked the nod.Creative director Conn Bertish gave the opening address at an international paediatric oncology conference last night, and he says the invitation to speak shows there is a growing understanding in the medical profession about the immune-boosting role technology, social media and creativity play in human lives.More than 1400 delegates are attending the four-day Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology at Cape Town International Convention Centre.Bertish was declared cancer-free in 2013 and went on to launch Cancer Dojo, which includes a website and social media platforms."My aim is to increase survival rates by empowering people facing cancer with the tools and techniques shown to strengthen the human immune system," he said."My approach is complementary to the traditional treatment methods such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. It is not an alternative."Cancer Dojo helps you visualise your cancer and taps into studies that show that a person's mind can play a powerful role in helping the body to recover."Bertish is developing a mobile app that will use a playful visual methodology that embraces psychoneuroimmunology, the science behind how our minds affect the way our bodies behave.Bertish said being invited to the conference was a huge honour."I was 34 when I was diagnosed with a cancer that is common in children. My family and friends said they didn't find it strange, as I am very playful and childlike at heart," he said."That is also the way I choose to fight this. Children have this natural optimism that adults lose, and that is what I harnessed."One of my favourite sayings is that happy people are harder to kill. The positive mind has amazing immune-boosting properties."The fact that a conference of such magnitude considers this kind of thinking worthy enough to discuss speaks greatly about the medical profession's growing appetite for exploring new ways to combat cancer."Tom Sutcliffe, chairman of the Mental Health Review Board of the Western Cape, said Bertish's innovation was "brilliant"."It is a unique, simple and effective way of augmenting the benefits of traditional treatments by making recipients as psychologically and immunologically fit as possible."..