One of my long time buddies that is really into cars (and knows his Mustangs like no body’s business) started texting me some pictures a week ago and I thought “cool pics man!” The more that came the more I was intrigued and I asked him where he was at – I didn’t know there were any shows that day. Turns out he was at the Orange County Fair at the Cruising For A Cure car show where proceeds go to the City of Hope directly.
The organization raises money in hopes of finding a for a cure to cancer, and in the meantime – finding ways to prevent or predict. Turns out his father is a survivor so we dedicate this article to his Dad and all the Dads, brothers, husbands, sons and friends we’ve all lost or better yet, seen beat cancer. Enjoy the pics and read more about them below (all photos courtesy of Dave Parker at www.daveparkerphotos.com).
“Cruisin’ For A Cure is the world’s largest one day charity custom/classic auto show with over 3400 vehicles on display, over 200 vendors and exhibitors, and a mile and 1/2 cruise route. Cruisin’ For A Cure is also a registered non-profit California organization. All of the individuals that organize the show, handle show day logistics, and generally help make this event a success, are doing this voluntarily in addition to their “day jobs”. Unlike many other automotive fundraising events, none of the money goes to a car club, promoter, or ”administrative overhead”…. There are none!
Thus, you can be assured that your donation goes directly to prostate cancer research. That is why they have all participants make their entry check out to the CITY OF HOPE. They simply log in the vehicle information for the show and forward the check to the City of Hope
Prostate Cancer will strike over 200,000 men this year alone. Of these men, over 31,000 will die. That’s one man every 6½ minutes! Husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers….. In many cases it could have been prevented with regular precautionary checkups.
We men tend to figure, “It won’t happen to me” or, “ Well, I’m busy now, but I’ll check into it later.” Later could be too late. After all, don’t we regularly do tune ups and other precautionary work on our rides in the hope of preventing major repairs later? Your body deserves no less. And the truth is, the testing is painless, not embarrassing, and could save your life. Just ask any of the guys you will see at the show wearing the blue “Survivors” shirts. They will tell it to you straight.
Please take the free PSA test at the show, or ask your doctor about it.
A simple PSA test, while not the complete answer, will indicate if there is the possibility of a problem. It is a simple, painless blood test.
In a previous years, over 1000 men were tested at one of the Cruises. Of these, 140 were discovered to have an elevated PSA count of over 2.6 and were instructed to see their doctor for further testing. Over the past several years, over 5,000 men have been tested at the show and literally hundreds of lives have been saved.”
Now you know why they do this show! So next time there is a show in your town take your ride out there, and while you are there get yourself tested =-)