Cancer nearly took Jake Bailey's life at 18, but he used the experience to inspire other young people after he survived his brush with death. 

Nine years ago, Bailey made the headlines for delivering an inspirational prizegiving speech weeks after he'd been diagnosed with rapid blood cancer Burkitt’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Once in remission, he studied positive psychology to try and get the answers to eventually give the next generation the ability to overcome life's ups and downs. 

This resulted in his latest book - The Comeback Code.

"I'm incredibly fortunate and privileged - in many ways, but to have had access to treatment, to have had the opportunity to be treated and cared for by an incredible medical team here in Christchurch and to be really fortunate and really privileged to have survived it and come out the other side."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.