Carrie Bickmore breaks down sobbing during emotional Project segment

One deeply personal story from a fellow panellist on The Project made Carrie Bickmore break down completely on-air.

The Project host Carrie Bickmore was overcome with emotion during Tuesday night’s episode after fellow panellist Kate Langbroek opened up about her own family’s experience with childhood cancer.

The show had just aired a story about three-year-old Manoli Plueckhahn, a young boy battling an aggressive cancer that only affects 1 in 100,000 Australian children. The Plueckhahn family are now raising funds to get ‘Oli’ the treatment he needs, which is not available in Australia.

Bickmore appeared momentarily speechless when the story finished. “You will do anything for your kids, won’t you?” she said. “Often limited by money. The more we can bring these treatments to Australia so these families aren’t having to go overseas to do this …”

Langbroek then shared her own personal story – her son Lewis, now 17, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009. He finally beat the illness after what Langbroek has previously called a “gruelling, terrible, frightening and painful three-and-a-half years.”

Kate shares her story as Carrie takes her hand.

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“Childhood cancers are particularly difficult. My son was diagnosed with leukaemia – you remember, Carrie,” she said, as Bickmore took her hand.

“I remember when we were first in hospital, and I saw the other little bald children, all I saw was the baldness. And then after we had spent time there and my own son was bald, I learnt to see the child and once you see the child, you will do anything to help the child. It’s very powerful,” Langbroek said.

Waleed stepped in to finish the segment.

RELATED: Cancer tragedy leaves Project host in tears

Bickmore turned to address the camera – but broke down in sobs, apologising as co-host Waleed Aly intervened to finish the segment and sent them to an ad break.

Cancer research and awareness is a cause very close to Bickmore’s heart: Her first husband Greg Lange died in 2010 after a decade-long battle with brain cancer.

That personal tragedy spurred her on to create the charity Beanies for Brain Cancer, giving the cause maximum attention when she donned a beanie to accept her Gold Logie in 2015.

An emotional episode of The Project last year dedicated to brain cancer awareness raised over $3.5 million for the Beanies for Brain Cancer foundation.

“Survival rates haven’t changed in 30 years,” Carrie told viewers during that episode.

“That is not good enough and it won’t change until more research is done and that won’t happen until more money is raised.”

Originally published as Carrie Bickmore breaks down sobbing during emotional Project segment