Throughout the month of May, Ms Sullivan will be participating in PanKind's Squats4Survival initiative.

Currently, 63 Australians die each week as a result of pancreatic cancer so the fundraiser will see participants do 63 squats a day to raise vital funds.

Pancreatic cancer is the third biggest cancer killer in Australia with an 11.5 per cent five-year survival rate.

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Ms Sullivan said the survival rate was only five per cent when she was diagnosed 11 years ago and while there has been an increase it's not enough.

"In 10 years that's not a great amount of research that has gone towards pancreatic cancer," she said.

Every $250 raised connects two patients with researchers and Ms Sullivan has already raised over $500 after only a few days.

Being a pancreatic cancer survivor herself, creating awareness is just as important for Ms Sullivan as funds.

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are different to most cancers.

What Ms Sullivan thought was just a bad gastro bug turned out to be a grapefruit-sized tumour on her pancreas and she strongly encourages people to listen to their bodies.

"The symptoms aren't like anything else where it's quite obvious that something's quite not right," Ms Sullivan said.

"Symptoms can go unnoticed, so things like constant reflux and bloating people quite often just ignore it.

"I had put on weight which is another symptom ... I'd gone from a size eight to a size 14 within a few months ... at the time I just thought I was getting comfortable and I'd let myself go a little.

"I was putting it down to other things in my life."

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer include things like abdominal and mid-back pain, digestive problems, a change in stool, new-onset diabetes and loss of appetite.

While these symptoms are often caused by less serious conditions, those persistently experiencing one or numerous symptoms are encouraged to see a doctor.

Like most conditions, the earlier pancreatic cancer is discovered the more easily it can be treated.

After undergoing a 10-hour procedure to remove her tumour, Ms Sullivan didn't think twice about donating it for research.

She said she hopes that it helped increase the survival rate over the last decade and she will continue to do whatever she can to help the statistics improve.

People can donate to pancreatic cancer research via the PanKind website.

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