Long Island Cruizin’ For A Cure is an annual antique and classic car show started seven years ago by prostate survivor, Sandy Kane to raise awareness of the disease and spread the word about the importance of early detection. On behalf of the nonprofit group, Sandy Kane presented a $10,000 donation to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) cancer scientists Jim Hicks and Lloyd Trotman, for their collaboration on a research program that aims to advance the effectiveness of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Long Island Cruizin’ For A Cure car shows are organized entirely by volunteers. All profits go to support prostate cancer research, education programs and to encourage screenings for early detection of the disease. Men attending the show are invited to take advantage of free prostate cancer screenings provided on site by North Shore LIJ Health System volunteers.
Of the 250,000 American men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, about 1 percent will develop lethal, metastatic disease. Finding a way to distinguish between this small cohort and the majority of patients who will develop non-lethal prostate cancer is a key focus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists Lloyd Trotman and Jim Hicks. The team, in collaboration with clinical scientists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, studies the evolution of human prostate cancer using highly faithful, patient-specific prostate cancer mouse models. The team has shown that deletion of certain phosphatase genes could be a marker for advanced disease. Additionally, the team is working toward devising a diagnostic tool based on single cell sequencing so that the response to treatment of multiple metastatic sites can be followed by a simple blood test. Using the genetic information from rare cancer cells in the blood, a tailored cocktail of drugs can be designed to treat that cancer. More importantly, follow-up tests can reveal the presence of cells that resist treatment and cause relapse, signalling the need to adjust therapy. This highly versatile approach has the potential to prevent lethal spread of the disease.
This year’s Cruizin’ For A Cure will be held on Sunday, September 9 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM at the Sears Automotive Center on Routes 106/107 in Hicksville (LIE exit 41 South; Northern State exit 35 South). The show, Long Island’s largest, will feature hot rods, custom cars, muscle and classic cars as well as specialty vehicles, motorcycles and antique fire apparatus. The show is geared toward family entertainment with food, vendor booths, an afternoon doo wop concert and a “Kids Fun Zone” including a radio controlled model race car track and fingerprint ID program.
