Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni Association showed their support for breast cancer research as they toured the Women’s Cancer Research Center (WCRC) at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI). The research center is a collaboration between the MWRI and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). Nicole Meloche, wife of retired Penguins goalie, scout and coach Gilles Meloche, lost her brave battle with breast cancer in 1993. The Pens Alumni Association established the Nicole Meloche Memorial Breast Cancer Fund at MWRI to raise money to fund metastatic breast cancer research.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins players and their wives, including Gilles and Sophie Meloche, Mario and Nathalie Lemieux, Jay and Alicia Caufield and Randy and Heather Hillier, met with UPCI researchers and clinicians to learn about recent advances that have been made as well as ongoing studies in the field of breast cancer research. Those in attendance included: Steffi Oesterreich, PhD, Director of Education at the WCRC; Adrian Lee, PhD, Director of the WCRC and Co-Leader of the UPCI Breast and Ovarian Cancer Program; Shannon Puhalla, MD, Medical Oncologist; and Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, Co-Leader of the Magee-Womens Breast Cancer Center and Associate Director for Clinical Investigation at UPCI.
