The Cancer Center, under construction near the main hospital, is one of many expansions underway at Upstate Medical Center
SYRACUSE -- Upstate University Hospital's new $90 million Cancer Center is one step closer to being finished.
On Tuesday, cancer survivors and family members signed their names and left messages on the final steel beam that will be placed near the top of the new Cancer Center building. When the building is completed, doctors and programs will be under one roof. Leslie Kohman, the cancer center's medical director, says patient care will be better coordinated and more convenient.
"It's very exciting to think about the programs we're going to be able to put in it - that's what I'm the most excited about," said Kohman
Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim has served as honorary co-chair of a fundraising campaign for the building. On Tuesday, Juli Boeheim said she was grateful for the support Central New York has shown.
"To have the right facility, the right docs all in the right place and the patients - I think it's a dream come true. It really is," said Juli Boeheim.
The Cancer Center is on track to open in the spring of 2014. The steel beam will be in Upstate University Hospital's lobby for the next month - cancer survivors and families are encouraged to sign it.
