Panucci's Promise Supporting Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation
Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation

What Our Scientists Are Doing:


  • Uncovering new prevention and treatment approaches in more than 20 clinical trials.
  • Making strides in the detection, treatment and prevention of women’s cancers.
  • Working to overcome treatment resistance in the most common form of breast cancer.
  • Examining the vulnerabilities in triple negative breast cancer to find a more effective cure for this aggressive disease.


Thank you for your support!

Peggy Panucci was everyone’s mom, a source of warmth and strength who loved to take care of everyone around her. Her son, Brian, was a second-year law student at Duquesne University when she passed away from breast cancer on Sept. 14, 2011.

The following year, the Duquesne University School of Law and the Duquesne Italian-American Law Society began raising funds for the Women's Cancer Program at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital as a tribute to Peggy. The idea was to provide comfort to patients in times of fear and uncertainty, the way Peggy did for those around her when she battled cancer.  

Since then, the entire Duquesne Law community has rallied around Brian and his family, working to create a legacy that honors Peggy’s memory. Known as Panucci's Promise, the fund has raised more than $15,000 through bake sales, raffles and the Duquesne Italian-American Law Society’s signature event, La Legge Con Brio, a yearly concert featuring law students, alumni, and professors as the musical talents. The fund has supported research and two therapeutic chairs with massage and heat features donated for patients at the hospital. As 2020 brought new challenges, the event for 2021 was postponed.

In keeping with the theme of our original goal, this year the program is offering enhanced acupuncture services to help provide relief for patients undergoing chemotherapy and treatment. Your gift to Panucci's Promise will allow us to help even more of those in treatment.