2nd Annual T.J. and Wayne’s People’s Choice Car Show and Poker Run for Esophageal Cancer Awareness Set for June 4

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Get your motors running for an afternoon of driving fun for a great cause! Hundreds of car enthusiasts are expected for the second annual T.J. and Wayne’s People’s Choice Car Show and Poker Run for ECAN (Esophageal Cancer Action Network) on Sunday, June 4, throughout the South Hills of Pittsburgh.

Driving vehicles ranging from classic and custom cars and trucks to imports and motorcycles, participants will kick off the poker run at 1 p.m. at Pep Boys Route 51 (390 Clariton Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15236).

Open to anyone with a vehicle and $10 per play sheet donation, the poker run will feature stops at the following locations:

• Meineke Car Care Curry Hollow Shopping Center (290 Curry Hollow Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236),
• Pep Boys Route 51 (390 Clariton Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236),
• Sheetz Route 51 (1000 Clariton Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236),
• GFS (Gordon Food Services) (510 Clariton Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236), and
• Guardian Storage (1300 Lebanon Church Road, Pittsburgh, 15236).

The car show will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. and feature People’s Choice Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, as well as the ECAN Best of Show Award. Adding to the fun will be a raffle for a 50” Flat Screen TV, a 50/50 raffle, Chinese auction with goods from event sponsors, a DJ and refreshments.

New this year, a Kids Car Show will be open to anyone under 18 who brings a bike, power wheels, wagon, etc. All participants will receive a goodie bag and there will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes. Also, Samuel Mike Photography will be on hand to take photos of participants’ vehicles for a $10 donation.

The businesses at all the route stops are sponsoring the event along with returning sponsors, Pep Boys, Meineke, Team Nutz, Down 2 Earth Customs and Our Little Secret Food Truck, and new sponsors, DF Kustoms, Power of Bowser Auto Group, Wozny Tanning, Buzzz Chop Shop and Washington Wild Things.

Brian Stypula, a Baldwin car enthusiast organized the event because the cause hits close to home. His father-in-law, Wayne Jones of Westview, died of esophageal cancer a few years ago.

Shortly thereafter, Brian’s father, Tom Stypula of Mt. Lebanon, Pa., was diagnosed with the same deadly disease. Years earlier, he had heartburn, but had no idea it could cause cancer. Fortunately, he is now cancer free, after undergoing chemoradiation and surgery to remove his esophagus.

“Before my father-in-law passed away from it and my dad was diagnosed with it, I hadn’t heard of this disease or realized how prevalent and serious it is,” Brian Stypula said. “Through this event, I can show support for my dad and honor Wayne, as well as raise awareness so others can prevent or detect it sooner.”

The type of esophageal cancer caused by reflux disease is the fastest increasing cancer diagnosis among American men. It’s increased more than 700 percent since the 1970s. ECAN recently commissioned a poll that found only 14 percent of American adults are aware that reflux can cause cancer.

This lack of awareness prompted ECAN to file a petition with the Food and Drug Administration seeking new labels on over-the-counter reflux medications warning that persistent reflux disease can cause esophageal cancer – and the medications don’t eliminate that risk.

“One American dies of esophageal cancer every 36 minutes and fewer than one of five diagnosed with the disease will survive five years,” said ECAN President and CEO Mindy Mintz Mordecai, who founded the national nonprofit organization after losing her husband and the father of their two young daughters to the disease in 2008.

“People need to know that if they are experiencing reflux symptoms on a regular basis, they should see their doctors and get checked,” she added. “We thank the Stypula family and all the event sponsors for helping us spread this lifesaving message.”

For more information about the second annual T.J. and Wayne’s People’s Choice Car Show and Poker Run for ECAN, visit https://www.facebook.com/event... or email Brian Stypula at dropautoparts@gmail.com.

About ECAN

ECAN’s mission is to save lives by increasing awareness that reflux disease can cause cancer, promoting early detection, supporting medical innovation to prevent, detect, treat and cure esophageal cancer and linking patients and families to compassionate support. The Baltimore-based national non-profit organization is led by a board of directors of top physicians, business leaders and families touched by esophageal cancer.

ECAN successfully advocated with the National Cancer Institute to include esophageal cancer in its groundbreaking genome mapping project. Through ECAN’s efforts, April has been formally designated as “Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month” across the United States. For more information and the nonprofit’s free, downloadable Guide for Patients about GERD, Barrett’s Esophagus and esophageal cancer, visit www.ECAN.org.