local chef in his fight for life
Readers • The Desert Sun • July 25, 2010
My father, Alberto Sabatino, has been a local chef in
the desert for the past 20 years. He was diagnosed
with an aggressive stage of prostate cancer a few
months ago.
A resident of Rancho Mirage, Sabatino, 57, was born
in Italy. He owns La Trattoria Bella Luna in Cathedral
City. He was Frank Sinatra’s personal chef in the
early 1990s.
We have been fortunate to have the support our
community to help raise funds for his cancer
treatment. On Aug. 27-29, Dining for a Cure will
raise money for his treatments.
Participating restaurants include Sullivan’s
Steakhouse, Castelli’s, the Chop House Palm Desert,
Hog’s Breath Inn and La Trattoria Bella Luna.
Please take a look at abeautifullifefoundation.org for
more information on my father and the event.
Rebecca Sabatino
Chino HIlls
Rebecca Sabatino, who lived in the desert for 15 years, is working with restaurants to raise money for her father, Alberto (left). (Courtesy photo)
Prostate Diaries 
I am distictly uncomfortable with this one. Fund raising for a cure or research is one thing but for an individual? There must be thousands of similar cases SO which one do you choose?
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How can you put a price on someones life. Thats the problem with doctors they look at thier patience as just another number maybe if they looked at them as individuals more lifes woud be saved.
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The problem is we have been raising money for years for a cure but how does that help the individual people we know personally with treatment? This is about a local icon who needs support from the community because the system has failed him. I am all for helping to find a cure but this man needs treatment and I think it is wonderful that his community is pulling together to help him.
I am absolutely disgusted with our healthcare system and it breaks my heart to see so many people have to struggle and jump through hoops and wait weeks/months for referrals and approvals for treatment and then someone sitting at a desk looks at the file and determines the fate of an individual when they stamp denied on their chart.
So this brings us to having to raise money for individuals – because the system doesn’t work for everyone.
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I am his former wife. I am also a cancer survivor. More people are surviving cancer now than ever before, thanks to the advances in medicine. However, unless you have been a victim of this disease, you cannot possibly understand what it does to devastate your life. Not only will you no longer be the person you were before, physically and emotionally, but just trying to survive the expensive treatments is a major hurtle in itself.
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