The “SAVE YOUR LIFE” Show
Story: T-Bone, Photos: Gary Morin (Rusty Relic), Tony Colombini
That’s a pretty bold statement. And it’s true. Over one hundred of our car cruisin’ buddies’ lives have been saved from Prostate Cancer this year alone. We have tested over 10,000 men and literally saved well over 3,000 men from this disease from the free testing each year at the show.
Debbie Baker and Ross Kroenert organize a team of over 100 volunteers for a one-day car show at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa. Billed and confirmed as the “World’s Largest One Day Charity Car Show”. The show is scheduled on the 4th Saturday of September (Prostate Cancer Awareness Month) and supports the City of Hope Prostate Cancer Program.
How does a car show save lives? Certainly the money supporting a cancer program at any hospital can help to save lives and in 2012 over $100,000 goes directly to the prostate cancer program at City of Hope. However, to say that a show actually saves lives, there has to be more than simply a donation of funds. And more is what this team of dedicated and passionate volunteers does. Men can be tested with a simple and painless blood “Prostate Specific Antigen” or PSA test or an equally painless digital exam (DRE). Each year a mobile testing lab is brought to the show. Men sign up for the FREE test. In the past 13 years an average of about 1,500 men get the PSA test at the show and about 300 receive the DRE test. It is interesting that an average of between 10-15% of men tested have found either elevated levels in their PSA or suspicious lumps in the DRE. Enough to where they are advised to seek additional medical attention. Those are pretty incredible odds. The challenge is to think that of the 20,000 people who attended the show this year (2012), only 1,016 men stepped up for the PSA test, and 203 used the DRE screening. If you extrapolate those numbers to the entire attendance and conservatively exclude the women and children at the show, a potential of 100,000 men could be eligible for the test. Yet only 1% of them were tested. I hate to think about the other 99,000 men not tested and 10% of them could be in jeopardy of Prostate cancer. If I do my math right, that’s close to 10,000 men at the show that day. Uggh. My mind is spinning.
So I urge you. Next year. Go to the show. Get tested. There’s a fairly famous individual who has gone to the show for many years, and never got tested. Debbie had to drag him to get tested. He showed elevated levels of PSA in his blood-work and immediately went to his doctor where he found out he indeed had prostate cancer and now celebrates each birthday at Disneyland thanking Debbie that without her event and persistence, he wouldn’t be here today and calls her his Guardian Angel.
Not to bring this party down, let’s end on a high note. The event is a fantastic showing of vehicles of all makes, models and years. Modern to Antique. There are specific sections for Corvettes, Mustangs and the like. A cruise route that winds its way around the fairgrounds, fantastic vendors, car corral, great bands, cacklefest, firetruck displays, outstanding opportunity drawing prizes, all to make a great family fun day at the park.
Visit www.cruisinforacure.com for more information and be sure to call Debbie or Ross if you’d like to be a vendor (do it quick, she is already selling out for next year.