Telling cancer to take a hike

Each year, a group of prostate cancer survivors gathers for a group photo at the Cruisin’ for a Cure car show. My father and grandfather are among them.

On Saturday, they and many other men will wear light blue “Survivor” T-shirts and spend the day giving straight talk to other men about the disease.

Show founder Debbie Baker has one goal: to make fundraising efforts for prostate cancer just as common as those for breast cancer.

She’s run Cruisin’ for a Cure for 10 years now. The show offers free blood testing on-site to detect prostate cancer. Baker [no relation] wants to make free prostate cancer blood testing as abundant as the thousands of cars on display at her show.

“We’re the nation’s largest one-day charity car event,” Baker said.

More than 3,500 cars are expected to converge on the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa this weekend, along with 15,000 spectators. The event features a daylong car cruise, more than 250 vendors, food, entertainment and endless viewing opportunities. No appointment is needed for blood testing.

Anybody is welcome to drive into Gate 4 and register their car starting at 4:30 a.m. Saturday. All vehicle years and makes are welcome; owners of different makes tend to congregate together, Baker said, like Mini Coopers, hot rods and trucks.

The day’s opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. are popular, and offer a Marine Corps color guard, country singer Casey Simpson performing the National Anthem, a parade of fire trucks and a 60-foot flag.

Other Cruisin’ for a Cure events are now held across North America, including in Canada, Long Island, Texas and Utah.

A personal test

But, for Baker, this year’s show has a melancholic tinge. In March, her husband died of prostate cancer after a 12-year battle.

Her loss has made Baker all the more fervent about ensuring that men get tested. Health organizations now are lowering the recommended age of first testing from 50 to 40, Baker said.

“I think any man over 40 should be tested,” my father, Tom Baker, said. “It’s just a quick blood test, and unlike going to a doctor, the test is free. You do not need an appointment, and then you can go on to see the show.”

Debbie Baker added: “The year we started testing, six guys came back positive. Every year, the numbers seem to grow. They used to consider it an old man’s disease, but it’s not. Men whose dad or brother had it need to start testing at 35.”

She’s known at the show for examining men’s arms as she rolls by in her patriotically decorated golf cart, looking for the telltale cotton balls to show who’s been tested.

“I’ll never stop doing this,” Baker said. “I love this. I had a call today from someone asking, ‘Who do I call to talk about how the show saved my life? I just wanted to thank you. If it wasn’t for your show, I wouldn’t ever have gone and gotten tested.’ He had surgery in February.”

Another man, Carson Lev, whom Baker literally had marched to the testing booth, turned out to have prostate cancer. He has since called Baker his “guardian angel.”

An unexpected hit

Before starting Cruisin’ for a Cure, Baker, who volunteers much of her spare time in organizing and running the show, had no background in car shows.

She and her husband were spectators at area shows, until his diagnosis.

The shows came about when a car club group was searching for a charity to support at a new car show. Debbie Baker’s suggestion made history.

“We did our first one in 1999, at what’s now Verizon Amphitheatre,” Baker said. Featuring 600 cars, the event was an unexpected hit. The following year, it bloomed to showcase 2,500 vehicles at the El Toro Marine Base; free cancer screenings also were introduced.

After that, the show came to the Orange County Fairgrounds, where it’s stayed for the past eight years.

Cruisin’ for a Cure’s new partner this year is the City of Hope, a world-class cancer research center, which will receive all the proceeds. Baker and her crew of volunteers take no pay for their work.

My father first tried to attend the 2007 show, but was sidelined by his prostate cancer surgery. He attended his first Cruisin’ for the Cure show last year. He’s known in the car community for his gold 1968 Mustang.

“This show has a common bond, and no one cares what kind of car you drive,” my dad said. “Everyone puts aside their ‘My car/truck is better than yours’ attitude, and enjoys looking at the vehicles and talking to each other. Almost everyone, including the vendors, is interested in testing men before they go home.”

If you’re a man of a certain age, be warned: Debbie Baker will be looking for you.

“I stop every guy and say, ‘Let me see your arm,’” Baker said. “Now I have to say, ‘Do you want to be like my husband?’”

If You Go

What: Cruisin’ for a Cure

When: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. opening ceremonies; 4 p.m. award ceremony

Where: Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: $12 for adults; free for children younger than 12; all proceeds benefit City of Hope’s prostate cancer program

Information: (714) 803-9216 or cruisinforacure.com