There are few more worthy of that than Canberra mum, Sarah Mamalai, who has survived brain cancer, three brain surgeries and ongoing, often debilitating side effects from the cancer and the operations. It is now 12 years since she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour and she has not only survived, but thrived, most importantly raising her two sons, Joseph, 16, and William, 13, with husband Oscar.

One year after her first brain surgery, she walked the Kokoda Track, over eight days, with her boys on her mind

Kokoda nearly killed me, but to do it meant everything," she said.

"I think I desperately needed something to take my mind away from the diagnosis and show my kids that I wasn't going to lie down and quit."

And, despairing at the loss of friends to brain cancer, six years ago she started the annual Brainstorm for a Cure concert in Canberra. Headline acts have included Hoodoo Gurus, Jon Stevens and Daryl Braithwaite, raising more than $2 million for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.

Sarah, 45, is now clear of the brain cancer but has ongoing issues, including suffering a stroke and partial blindness as a result of her third surgery in 2015.

She is grateful every day to be clear of the cancer and writes about it on her Facebook page Happiness in the face of Crappiness which she thinks sums her up. Shes known of brain cancer changing peoples personality.

"I'm lucky. I'm the same me, but with new strengths I didn't know I had," she said.

Sarah said she gained access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2015 and that made a huge difference to her life.

Its allowed me to be a mother again, she said. While Joseph and William can act embarrassed to have their mother and her support worker pick them up from sport or a party, Sarah has a sense of normality again that brain cancer threatened to take away.

"I've still got a weak gait, tend to stumble if I'm tired. Its pretty clear I've got a disability these days. I try not to focus on it, and that is because of the NDIS," she said.

As well as helping with logistical parenting tasks, Sarah's support workers drive her to medical appointments, and will soon ferry her to volunteering shifts with the Red Cross.

"That's something I'd recommend its such a nice way to use my support and still feel useful," she said.