Amanda Kraus Wilson has been attending Washington Capitals games for as long as she can remember, and before moving to Suffolk, she was even a season ticketholder for 10 years.

But Wilson has found a new reason to watch the Capitals, and it’s not because they are in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years.

On Feb. 21, Wilson was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava. The diagnosis shook Wilson and her family to the core, and hockey has been an escape for them.

“It’s a good distraction, and it gives me some normalcy,” Wilson said. “Any time you can keep a routine in the day, it usually makes the day a bit better.”

The diagnosis was not an easy one, and Wilson working in the medical field didn’t soften the blow. She is a physical therapist at Sentara Obici Hospital.

Problems started with abdominal pain, but, in the beginning, Wilson shrugged it off due to her Crohn’s disease and her recent Caesarean section. She managed to work through the pain until her ankles began to swell.

“It was instant. They aren’t going to tell you right away, but it’s the way the doctor tells you something. I just knew,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t breathe, and all I thought about was my kids. My whole world got tripped up.”

Wilson has two children — Ian, 3, and Emery, 9 months — and they aren’t too sure of what is going on with their mother’s diagnosis, but they are growing up to be Capitals fans just like their parents.

Wilson has had to juggle chemotherapy and radiation appointments as well as making sure she catches regular season and playoff games, but that hasn’t been any different from the rest of the year.

“We watch every regular-season game and dinners are planned around it,” Wilson said. “It has always been something for us to plan the day around.”

The last time Wilson saw the Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals, she was in college, and she admits she didn’t pay attention too much. She’s happy she didn’t, because the team was swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

She’s glad she is paying attention this time around and has been happy to watch the team’s success while her life is changing. Wilson is hoping for Washington to bring home the Stanley Cup.

“I don’t even know what I would do if they won. I’m sure I’ll cry,” Wilson said. “I cried when they were Eastern Conference Champions.”

She will continue treatment while hockey is still happening. Currently, Wilson is being treated with both radiation and chemotherapy, and that treatment will be completed June 28. Towards the end of July, Wilson will have surgery for doctors to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

Wilson’s story has been covered by the Washington Post and ESPN, and the media coverage has given her more distractions as well as a confidence boost.

“All of a sudden, so many people were contacting me via Facebook and Twitter. It’s another great source of strength. Every minute I can pick up my phone, someone I don’t know is praying and rooting for me,” Wilson said. “It serves a platform for me to just get some strength.”

Now Wilson feels confident enough to go to the grocery store without a scarf or a hat.

“Before all of this happened, I was very uncomfortable with the ‘Amanda with cancer,’ and I still don’t know who that person is,” she said. “This is all helping me become comfortable finding that person. I think people look at me and see a strong person.”