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"DEBBIE BAKER, Founder/Chair of Cruisin' For A Cure," author unknown. Editor: Debbie Baker is not a land speed racer, but she is committed to the hot rod culture and to raising funds for research into prostate cancer, a disease that kills many hot rodders and land speed racers. Her story was written by an unknown author for the Muckenthaler Car Show. Cars have always been central to Debbie Baker's life. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, she spent her formidable years - the late 1960's and early 1970's, when tail fins gleamed, V8's were king and heavy metal came with four tires and a steering wheel - cruising up and down Van Nuys Boulevard and hanging out at Bob's Big Boy. After graduating from Van Nuys High School, she headed south to Orange County in 1973, leaving her Valley Girl ways, but not her love of cars, behind. In need of a way to support her car habit, Debbie began her professional career in banking then switched to real estate. A licensed real estate agent noted for her colorful suits and lacquered finger nails, Debbie has served as the office manager of CT Realty, a privately held real estate investment company in Newport Beach, since 1994. Not surprisingly, her husband, Jim of 30 years, whom she met in 1973, is a car nut himself. Residents of Mission Viejo, they currently own a 1941 Ford pickup truck, a 1978 TransAm, and a current model Corvette. She and Jim had been regulars at car shows for years, but it was her husband's prostate cancer diagnosis in 1996, followed the same year by her boss's diagnosis with the disease, that spurred Debbie to turn her passion for cars into a new mission: Cruisin' For A Cure. As her husband battled the disease, which doctors told them would likely kill him within 10 years - a prediction he has proven wrong - she became his advocate, helping him navigate PSA scores, scans, treatment options, and much more. In the process, she discovered how ignorant other men were about prostate cancer and testing for the disease. "It is absolutely amazing how many men don't even know what a prostate gland's function is," notes Debbie. Wanting to help raise awareness about prostate cancer and help save lives, she realized "hooking" guys with cars then getting the message out about prostate cancer would be the perfect vehicle (pun intended). Her boss, Bob Campbell, who was on the Board of Directors of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, agreed and allowed her, on company time, to plan a car show that would benefit UCLA's Cancer Center. Debbie launched Cruisin' For A Cure in 2000. Held at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Laguna Hills, the first event featured over 600 cars and was, in spite of rain, a major success. Most importantly, the car crowd loved it. By the second year, the number of entries had grown more than five times to an astounding 3100 cars, which were displayed on six miles of runways at the former El Toro Marine Base, where Debbie had moved Cruisin' For a Cure. She recalls, "As a way to honor the heroes who lost their lives and those people missing as a result of the September 11th tragedy, the show opened with more than 30 fire trucks parked in formation as a ladder truck raised a 60-foot flag into the sky while country singer Casey Simpson sang the national anthem. There wasn't a dry eye anywhere." The 2001 event also marked the debut of free prostate cancer screening tests for men over 40, provided by The Drive Against Prostate Cancer and the National Coalition for Prostate Cancer. More than 600 men were tested and 79 of them received a "see your doctor" notice. Over night, Cruisin' For A Cure changed from being solely a fundraiser to what Debbie fondly calls the "save-your-life car show." The following year, needing yet more room, Debbie moved Cruisin' For A Cure to the Orange County Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa, its current home. With more than 3500 cars on display in 2002, Cruisin' For A Cure officially became the largest one-day car show in the nation, a title it continues to hold. The number of men tested for prostate cancer at the show, has also continued to grow each year. Over the past seven years, more than 5300 men have taken free PSA tests - a simple blood test - at Cruisin' For A Cure. Nearly 10% of them have been notified to "see your doctor." So Debbie has literally helped to save the lives of hundreds of men, most of them complete strangers. She has also been known to personally escort friends and sponsors of Cruisin' For A Cure to the testing van, several of whom were diagnosed with prostate cancer but are alive and well today, thanks to her. There is, perhaps, no one more persuasive than Debbie. She promotes Cruisin' For A Cure at other car shows year round. She has procured financial or in-kind support for Cruisin' For A Cure from nearly every major automotive company in the nation. She has earned glowing endorsements for her efforts to raise awareness about prostate cancer from the medical community. She has also garnered deep admiration and appreciation from the many men - and their families - whose lives she has touched. Among the honors she has received, Debbie was named by KNX 1070 Radio, "Hero of the Week," in 2007 for her dedication to helping find a cure for prostate cancer and saving men's lives. In May 2008, she will serve as Honorary Chair of the prestigious Muckenthaler Car Show in Fullerton. Debbie's impact has reached far beyond Southern California. Cruisin' For A Cure car shows are now held in New York; New Mexico; Fort Worth, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Ontario, Canada. She provides invaluable start up information to anyone who is even remotely interested in creating a prostate cancer related car show. There is a definite urgency to everything Debbie does. She won't rest until every man over 40 in the county is tested annually for prostate cancer and every man knows his PSA baseline number and what it means. Debbie is on a self-professed mission to save our men. And because of her efforts, she is well on her way to becoming as legendary in car circles and beyond as the Boulevard she once cruised in her youth.
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