Cruisin’ For A Cure car show in Costa Mesa continues push for prostate cancer screenings

COSTA MESA, Calif. (KABC) — A classic car show in Orange County attracted car lovers from all across Southern California, but the event also serves a larger purpose for the men in attendance.

Cruisin’ For A Cure, a massive one-day charity car show that brings out thousands of one-of-a-kind vehicles for display, was created to raise the public’s awareness of the importance of getting screened for prostate cancer.

At each event, organizers offer free prostate screenings.

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“Everybody needs get checked as early as possible,” said Rick Brown, an attendee at Saturday’s event who survived prostate cancer. “I got lucky, my wife made me get checked every year and I got caught early. But like my own kids, I am having hard time getting them to go, my two boys, getting them to go get screened, and it is just something you have to do.”

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month. Cruisin’ For A Cure’s founder, Debbie Baker, started the car show after her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“They like to go to car shows and show off their toys, so if they can bring their toys and all these beautiful cars here, their wives usually push them in and they go get a free blood test,” she said.

The car show puts men in the driver’s seat when it comes to taking control of their health, and for some car enthusiasts, it’s become an annual routine.

“This makes it so easy to walk in here whereas if you go to the doctors at Kaiser or wherever, it takes a while to go through the process, but right here, you just go get in line and its fast and its easy and the results come back relatively quick,” said Michael Nifong.

Don Hoover of Costa Mesa came to Saturday’s car show and received his first screening at the request of his doctor, who’s a prostate cancer survivor.

“We just take it for granted that we are just healthy,” said Hoover. “I feel great, but you never know these days. So, better safe than sorry.”

It is estimated that Cruisin’ For A Cure has saved countless lives with more than 4,000 men discovering they had elevated PSA levels.

For more information, visit Cruisin’ For A Cure’s website.