Detroit teacher shares life-saving breast cancer lesson

(WJBK) - A Detroit teacher is bringing new awareness to her classroom after she learned a live-saving lesson.

Forty-eight-year-old Amy Krzyzanowski was told 10 years ago that she had breast cancer.

"I was so angry I called my parents," she says. "'Mom, Dad, you're not going to believe this.'"

Unbelievable, because Amy's always been the healthiest one in the room. She's an athletic, competitive runner who also has a love of horses. The teacher in her knew, though, that when she found the lump she couldn't ignore it.

That turned into a breast cancer diagnosis and a lumpectomy - and another teachable moment.

'We talked about it, I'm still here. Ten years. No reason to be nervous or scared," she says.

Almost ten years cancer free, Amy isn't looking back. She is running forward.

Her team Amy's Army has shown up at Race for the Cure year after year to raise money, awareness and hope. Amy has won Race for the Cure among the survivor category, but she realizes when she crosses that finish line - first place or not - she's winning.

"Winning isn't the most important thing," she says. "It's a wonderful feeling."

When Amy discovered the lump in her right breast she went in for a mammogram that revealed nothing. Her doctor then wisely insists on an ultrasound. That's where they saw blood flow to the tumor, ordered a biopsy and got the diagnosis.

In August, Amy will celebrate a big milestone - being cancer free for 10 years.

Click here if you'd like to learn more about Race for the Cure. It's this Saturday, May 13, at Comerica Park.