Word got about fast that Ms Rix was making masks for a $5 donation to help fight cancer with research in Ballarat. Orders came in from across the community.

Ms Rix's efforts tallied $2100 for Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute.

The breast cancer survivor has undertaken major personal fundraisers for FECRI before - she collected five-cent coins to mark five years from her diagnosis and 10-cent coins to mark 10 years - but this was a whole new mammoth undertaking.

As demand for masks stepped up, Ms Rix brought on her sister-in-law to help with sewing, like an employee, and she had to start charging $15 per mask to cover her time and supplies while retaining the $5 donation.

"I know how much money I made out of making masks, so I can imagine how well everyone else has done and the difference this might make," Ms Rix said.

"Nearly everyone you talk to is related to someone who has or had cancer. I am a breast cancer survivor and so always advocated for breast cancer research, but this is for all cancers."

Ms Rix's sewing sister-in-law is also a breast cancer survivor while another sister-in-law died with pancreatic cancer a couple of months ago - she donated a further $1000 to pancreatic cancer support. A step-niece is in palliative care.

But Ms Rix is well-versed in how a little bit can make a big difference.

On top of her major coin drives, Ms Rix collects loose change from about the house and donates this to her oncologist George Kannourakis, FECRI's honorary director, each February at her check-up. She does so with money also raised via Bungaree Senior Citizens card games.

Ms Rix's sewing project started as a way to make time for herself. She had bought a sewing machine two years ago and wanted to get using it. Her mother-in-law, an avid sewer, died more than a decade ago but her sewing room still had fabric the family wanted put to good use.

This started as a project to mask-up family and close friends and snowballed.

IN OTHER NEWS

In the past decade, Ms Rix has donated about $5000 to cancer research, which she said might not seem a lot but loose change added up.

This January will mark 15 years to the day since Ms Rix was diagnosed with breast cancer on her birthday. At the time she was 41 years old.

Ms Rix is planning a new COVID-safe fundraiser, calling on people to donate $15 to represent that 15 years being worth more than $15. To support, email joanierix13@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute's Pink Lady Dinner last week raised $7000 for the breast cancer project.

This program, launched in March, is led by decorated senior researcher Aparna Jayachandran and has already made findings into a pregnancy associated plasma protein found in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers.

This research has provided evidence that could lead to new treatments and, in turn, continues to shape potential treatments for other cancers.