Community rallies around Tri-Cities restaurant owner after bitter cancer diagnosis

Not only is the owner of Rocco’s Pizza facing complicated, experimental cancer treatments, but he has to pay for them out of pocket and in advance.

Longtime Tri-Citian Rob Curet, who owns Rocco’s in Pasco and is part owner in the recently-opened Kennewick location south of Ranch & Home, was diagnosed earlier this year with stage 4 cancer.

The single father to an 11-year-old daughter was in a skiing accident in February. And while doctors were doing X-rays on his back, they found that the 50-year-old had cancer and it had metastasized to his bones.

“To have someone at this age at this advanced stage is very unusual,” said his friend Brian Cable, who has known Curet since they went to school together at Hanford High.

The first treatment of chemotherapy was so intense that it hospitalized Curet.

Future chemo treatments would only be prolonging his life — not killing his cancer — and no longer were an option.

Cable said that family and friends rallied around Curet and found a doctor in Florida who created an experimental immunotherapy treatment that has proved promising. However, it is not covered by insurance.

But surviving for his daughter is paramount so Curet traveled to Florida this week for surgery Friday morning. He had to wire $70,000 in advance for the treatment.

“(Curet) is all about serving other people and making sure other people are OK before himself,” said Cable, who is doing what he can to get community support.

A GoFundMe fundraiser already has raise more than $66,000 toward the treatment, the first of more to come.

Always doing for other

Cable described Curet as a devoted father. “They are inseparable,” he said.

Curet, a local fishing guide, is the baby of the family of five brothers, including one who owns another Tri-Cities pizza restaurant — Brick House Pizza in West Richland.

“Rob is a super selfless friend who is constantly doing stuff for others and not himself,” Cable said. “Rob takes me and my boys out fishing all the time.”

Cable said that he first met Curet when his family moved to Tri-Cities from Idaho Falls.

“He was supposed to be a hot shot athlete,” Curet remembered. “But immediately we were all friends with him. You can’t not like Rob.”

The sentiment is echoed on social media posts.

The owner of Just Joel’s cafe posted that he felt compelled to help such a nice man and set up a fundraising car wash. It is planned from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 17, in front of the cafe at 1505 W. Kennewick Ave. The restaurant also is planning a spaghetti feed in the near future.

“Rob is a wonderful man, I used to be one of the managers at Rocco’s Pizza. Thanks for helping him out. He would do anything for anyone in a heart beat,” wrote one person in response.

To donate: go to gofundme.com/f/lets-cure-robs-cancer-help-with-treatment or drop off a donation at the Kennewick Rocco’s Pizza at 7911 W. Grandridge Blvd.

This story was originally published April 10, 2021 at 12:16 PM.