Breast cancer survivor Jamie Kastelic, a Ford Warriors in Pink Model of Courage, said after the 42nd Steve’s Run July 30 at Southwestern Michigan College, “At our house we say, ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall.’ That pertains to cancer because it’s a beast. You really have to put your fighting gloves on. We fought this as hard as we could.”

Kastelic, of St. Joseph, graduated from Edwardsburg High School.

Daughter of SMC Chief of Staff Tom Atkinson and his wife, Judge Susan Dobrich, she married Brian Kastelic after college.

“We were blessed with two beautiful boys, Ethan, who will be 9 soon, and Brady, 6.”

“In December 2012, our lives changed,” Kastelic recalled. “I was contacted by my doctor and told I had breast cancer. I was 33 with a baby in diapers and a 5-year-old son. It was a shock. The first thing that came to mind was am I going to survive and who will help take care of my children? I told my husband and asked him to take Ethan outside to play, got in my car and had a complete breakdown. I called my mom, but she didn’t answer, so I called my dad and started yelling hysterically, ‘I have breast cancer!’ He was taken aback because I didn’t tell anyone I was having a biopsy.”

“Soon after my diagnosis,” Kastelic said, “I had a bilateral mastectomy. We were pleased it had not spread to my lymph nodes. Chemotherapy was the next battle. I grew long hair to donate to Locks of Love. My 5-year-old loved long hair. I didn’t want him to wake up and see his mom bald. We had a head-shaving party with pizza, popcorn, pink M&Ms and cupcakes. My husband and I shaved our heads. I allowed myself to cry only in the shower. I didn’t want to scare them.”

“I went to the University of Chicago for reconstructive surgery,” Kastelic said, “but a month after, ended up getting an extremely bad infection. I was taken from Lakeland to Chicago in the middle of the night. My pulse was 250. They worried I would have a stroke. I was released after a week on Ethan’s sixth birthday. Three days later I went back and had my implants removed. I’m proud of my journey, proud of my scars. They’re battle wounds. I had cancer, but cancer never had me.”

Danielle Kennedy, WSBT-TV, South Bend, shared the survivor story of her mother, who underwent a double mastectomy when Danielle was 11.

Her uncle also survived cancer diagnosed with acute leukemia at 21.

“She’s an amazing woman and my hero. When I was 11 I got off the bus from camp,” Kennedy said. “I was wearing a lime-green shirt. My mom was crying, probably wondering how to tell her 11-year-old and 9-year-old daughters she had breast cancer. She did a lot of trips back and forth to New York City. Aunts and uncles brought food. Dad didn’t go to work.

“Last night I talked to Jamie for the first time on the phone for an hour and 15 minutes,” Kennedy told the awards ceremony in Alumni Plaza on SMC’s Dowagiac campus. “Jamie is one of those people who makes you feel good about yourself. She shows you there are hope, love and kindness in the world. Most importantly, we often forget strength. We don’t realize how much strength we have to muster. I applaud Jamie for all she’s been through, her two beautiful sons and her amazing husband, whom I got the chance to meet today. She’s truly an inspiration! When I look at her, I see my mom. To be a thousand miles from home, it’s nice to have that refreshing feeling.”

Kennedy, who helped Kastelic and state Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, present awards with just over 640 registered participants, completed the 10K in 42:37, claiming her age division and finishing second overall to women’s winner Hannah Boudreau (41:11) of Hampstead, Md. Boudreau runs for Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Hannah wore an Eddie Strong shirt for Uncle Ed Kazlauskas while visiting Aunt Sue Kazlauskas, owner of The Marshall Shoppe.

Kennedy ran four years of cross country/track and field for State University of New York at Oneonta, making three NCAA Division III National Championship appearances and earning All-American cross country honors.

Portage Central senior Gannon Foley won the men’s 10K in 35.40, with Andrew Smenyak’s 36:04 second and Michael Callison’s 38:04 third.

David Jones of Constantine won the men’s 5K in 16:43. Sarah Cullip of Allendale won the women’s 5K in 20:10.

Steven Briegel Scholarship Foundation and Mayo Clinic cancer research divide proceeds.

Steve’s parents, SMC President Emeritus David and Camille, sister Carrie and Dowagiac Union High School 1986 classmates during their 30-year reunion participated.