A brand new mum and suddenly she was in the battle of her life.

Three years on, with her husband Ben Roberts by her side, her son Dean is a bright and energetic boy and she is proudly draped with a 'survivor' ribbon at the Relay for Life fundraiser.

Hosted at the AIS track field on Saturday, the event is one of the biggest of its kind in Canberra, bringing together about 1500 participants to celebrate and honour those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Ms Collier reflected on the difficulties of raising a newborn while also being thrust into chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

"It was pretty isolating because you can't do a lot of the things you do with small children because you can't get any infections," she said.

"So that was pretty tough, but even work colleagues would come around and drop food parcels and things, which was just so invaluable."

Mr Roberts said the support from family and friends through such a chaotic and traumatic period was vital.

"We had family travel from interstate for each bout of chemo, which was once every three weeks for six courses," he said.

Ms Collier is now in remission and despite still requiring some treatment she is pushing ahead, completing her relay leg. She has also raced in a dragon boat with other cancer survivors.

"This is the first time we've done it [the Relay for Life]," she said. "It's just a great celebration to say we're still here, and to raise money for other people that are going through the real hard slog of the disease."

Her husband agreed, acknowledging the importance of celebrating days and events such as this.

"As they said in the opening speech, one of the things to think about and for those who have been exposed to the disease is every step counts," Mr Roberts said.

"Every step forward is a milestone for yourself as a cancer patient, a carer, and also a step forward in your life generally ... every step forward is a valuable one."