Wife Of Detroit Lions Coach Shares Story On Her Battle With Breast Cancer
DETROIT -- October serves as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month across the country with many sporting pink throughout the month. That'll be noticed on the football field across the NFL as well, but the meaning of this month has even more significance to one Detroit Lions assistant coach.
Amy Kocurek, wife of Detroit Lions defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Her2 positive breast cancer in February of 2015. Kocurek sat down with WWJ Newsradio 950's Jackie Paige to share her survival story and how she is beat this disease.
She first started to not feel good while she was with her husband at the Pro Bowl in 2015, and shortly after she noticed a lump in her breast. With so much life ahead of her, Kocurek told Paige that she was in "shock" when she received her diagnosis.
"Being 36 and really at the happiest point in my life, and here I am," Kocurek said. "I met the man of my dreams, about to get married in a month, we really wanted children and already being close to 40 we knew we needed to get started right away, just preparing for this wedding coming up and having everything, it was just a shock. It stole everything from me, cancer stole everything from me."
Kocurek went through a grueling treatment process that included a year of chemotherapy. Along the way she touched on the "five different emotions" she felt, including a "deep, dark depression" phase that lasted about three months.
Through support from Kris and the rest of her family, Kocurek said she was able to make it through all of the treatment and surgeries needed. Once it was all done, she remembers the call she received from her doctor when she was officially cancer free.
"My husband was just walking in from work and I was outside when my phone rang and it was my doctor," Kocurek said. "I answered it and I had all the feelings going on. What is she going to tell me? Is there something left? Did they get everything? She said 'Amy this is (your doctor) and your results came back awesome.' She said we got all of the cancer left.
"It was an amazing moment."
Hear the rest of Kocurek's amazing story and her message to anyone else who is suffering from breast cancer through the 13-minute interview.
