"Harder to kill" | Brain cancer, resilience and the mind-body connection

Conn Bertish was 36 years old when he noticed something strange.

He was writing down a phone number and kept writing a nine when he meant to write an eight. He tried again. Still a nine. He reached for a clean piece of paper, wrote slowly, carefully, and it was still a nine. That was the moment he knew something was seriously wrong.

What followed was an MRI, a neurosurgeon, emergency brain surgery, and a diagnosis of medulloblastoma - a fast-growing malignant brain tumour that originates in the cerebellum. A tumour almost exclusively found in children under five. Not in 36-year-old men. Which meant there was no treatment plan. No data. No roadmap. Just Conn, a tumour the size of a squash ball, and a decision about what kind of patient he was going to be.

He decided to gamify it.

This story follows Conn's journey through double brain surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and the unconventional, creative, science-backed approach he took to becoming what he calls harder to kill. It explores psychoneuroimmunology, the science behind why the mind-body connection affects biological outcomes, cognitive reframing, neuroplasticity, and the profound question of what it means to participate in your own survival rather than collapse into helplessness.

It is also a story about a father of two, a husband, a creative director, and a lifelong waterman who refused to let cancer shrink him.

This story explores:

• brain cancer diagnosis and survival
• medulloblastoma in adults
• psychoneuroimmunology and the mind-body connection
• cognitive reframing and resilience
• neuroplasticity and cancer recovery
• gamifying a life-threatening diagnosis
• identity and purpose after serious illness
• the role of creativity in healing
• becoming harder to kill

About Conn Bertish

Conn Bertish is a Cape Town-based creative director, speaker, and cancer survivor. He is the founder of Cancer Dojo - a positive engagement methodology supported by professors of oncology, sports science, and psychology. He speaks to organisations and individuals around the world about agile resilience, the mind-body connection, and how to move towards the things that scare you.

About Something Shifted

Something Shifted is a documentary-style, narrative podcast about identity after interruption. It tells stories of life before and after pivotal moments of change, where familiar structures fall away and new ways of being slowly emerge. Hosted by South African broadcaster Sean Loots, the podcast explores grief, resilience, transformation, and the lived experience of becoming someone different after life changes unexpectedly.

These are stories of life after interruption, told with honesty, detail, and emotional depth.

Explore more narrative stories of identity, resilience, and life transition wherever you listen to podcasts
Listen to Something Shifted: The Soundtrack on Spotify

About Something Shifted

Something Shifted is a documentary-style, narrative podcast about identity after interruption. It tells stories of life before and after pivotal moments of change, where familiar structures fall away and new ways of being slowly emerge. Hosted by South African broadcaster Sean Loots, the podcast explores grief, resilience, transformation, and the lived experience of becoming someone different after life changes unexpectedly.

These are stories of life after interruption, told with honesty, detail, and emotional depth.

Listen to more episodes

Explore more narrative stories of identity, resilience, and life transition wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to Something Shifted: The Soundtrack on Spotify