Former NHL head coach Pat Burns is battling cancer for a third time.
Burns told Montreal's La Presse he was informed he had lung cancer after returning from the World Hockey Championship this past spring.
Burns elected to undergo chemotherapy in his first two bouts with the disease but, according to La Presse, he has chosen not to go that route this time. He told the newspaper he will try other methods to battle the disease.
He was first diagnosed with colon cancer back in the 2003-04 NHL season and then found out he had liver cancer in 2005.
Burns was an NHL head coach for 14 seasons, including stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. He guided the Devils to a Stanley Cup victory in 2003, and won the Jack Adams Award three times (Canadiens - 1988-89, Maple Leafs 1992-93, Bruins - 1997-98).