"Everyone thinks it is a rare form of cancer, it is not," Bickmore told the audience.

"In 2010, my husband Greg was one of the unlucky ones and after long, long, long, long battle he died from brain cancer," she said.

Ms Bickmore called on everyone from morning television presenters to children on their way to school to wear a beanie for brains, sending #beaniesforbraincancer trending on Twitter.

With wellness blogger Belle Gibson disgraced after claiming to have cured her brain cancer with diet, we thought it was time to check Ms Bickmore's statistics about the dreadful disease.

And Carrie Bickmore, presenter of The Project, was mostly on the money with her stats.

1. Carrie Bickmore: "... every five hours someone is diagnosed with brain cancer."

Pretty close: Cancer Council NSW says one person in Australia is diagnosed with brain cancer every six hours.

2. "Eight out of 10 people who are diagnosed will die from brain cancer"

Nearly again: About 1600 people a year will be diagnosed with brain cancer in Australia. About 1200 will pass away.

3. "Everyone thinks it is this rare form of cancer, it is not."

It often afflicts the young but it is not the most common killer, lung cancer is when figures for older Australians are taken into account.

4. "It kills more people under 40 - and there are lot of you in this room - more people under 40 than any other cancer. It kills more kids than any other disease."

Pretty close again. Cancer Council NSW says: "Not only is brain cancer the leading cause of cancer death for young people under the age of 39 and children under 10, it carries the highest financial burden of all cancers."

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also says: "There were 92 deaths due to cancer in children aged 0-14 in 2007 and of these, 38 deaths were due to brain cancer, the highest number of deaths from any type of cancer in this age group in 2007."

5. Carrie Bickmore: "It receives next to no funding which is ludicrous because without funding more are going to die."

It receives about $16 million a year, according to Cancer Research - a government body that among other things conducts a national audit between 2006 and 2011.

6. Is the survival rate improving?

Between 2006 and 2010 there was a marginally improved survival rate up from 20 per cent to 22 per cent, says the Cancer in Australia report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

7. That seems a bit low.

Dr Elizabeth Hovey, medical oncologist and an advisor to Cancer Council Australia, says there are different types of brain cancers that have different survival rates. Mostly when people talk about brain cancer survival rates they are talking about cancers that originate in the brain rather than other parts of the body and these often have low survival rates.

8. What's being done?

Dr Hovey, who is part of the COGNO (Co-Operative Trials Group for Neuro-oncology), says the science is moving but clinical trials are really lagging behind.

There are "exciting" targeted agents - or designer drugs that target particular aspects of some brain tumours - and vaccine therapies which are being investigated.

Even old drugs are being looked at, research has found some old drugs, which are off-patent and not owned by any particular drug company, could have a vital role in treating patients with low grade tumours. Unfortunately, there is no obvious funding source to pay for ongoing research with these particular drugs.

The trials group wants drive its own trial ideas as well as participate in international research but it is expensive. Low grade brain cancers often take years to treat and ongoing clinical trials are expensive. COGNO gets some funding through Cancer Australia for infrastructure but not for trials. The group is seeking funding through the federal government, grants, philanthropists and charity groups.

9. Trials take time, what can be done right now?

Dr Hovey says there should be brain cancer nurses, a style of care used in breast cancer treatment. "It's such a complex journey... both the patient and the carer need so much assistance," Dr Hovey said.

These brain cancer nurses would able to linchpin a patient's treatment as they travel often through years of treatment and ongoing care.

10. So where does the #beaniesforbraincancer campaign come from.

Former Newcastle rugby league star Mark Hughes was diagnosed in 2013 with a brain tumour. He underwent radiation and chemotherapy and it has not re-grown as of March this year. He is now channelling his efforts into the Beanies for Brains campaign, now in its second year. The foundation's charity funds go towards research primarily into cells, new drug therapies and treatments and clinical trials. You can find it here .

11. Where else can I donate?

In NSW this week it is Brain Cancer Action Week which is designed to raise awareness and funding for brain cancer. During this week the Mark Hughes Foundation is asking people to "High 5" during May and commit to $5 per month for 12 months to help raise funds for brain cancer research.

More help can be found through local Cancer Council organisations, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation the Brain Tumour Alliance Australia.