Inside Duke Medicine

Topping-out ceremony marks Cancer Center milestone

Construction of the Duke Cancer Center facility took an important symbolic step forward on Nov. 4, when the final beam for the steel skeleton of the seven-story building was hoisted aloft amid cheers, applause and the pop of confetti cannons.

“This is, indeed, a significant milestone in the creation of what we believe will be one of the finest cancer treatment facilities in the nation,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs and CEO of Duke University Health System. “It represents a bold move being taken in the interests of cancer patients throughout North Carolina, the region and nationally, who depend on the innovative and leading edge treatment provided every day by our faculty and cancer focused healthcare teams.”

A highlight of the topping-out event was Dzau’s announcement of the formal creation of the Duke Cancer Institute, after more than a year of planning and preparation.

“The Duke Cancer Institute will integrate all cancer care and research at Duke,” Dzau said. “It represents a new approach to cancer research and care. It will create the ideal environment for advancing progress against cancer – an environment in which all of our cancer researchers, physicians, educators and staff come together as one team focused around the needs of the patient.”

Duke Medicine employees, physician faculty, patients and community members attended the topping-out festivities, held just outside the Morris Cancer Clinic. In the days leading up to the ceremony and as part of the event itself, dozens of people signed their names on the special white beam, which was adorned with the blue-and-while Duke Medicine shield and an American flag -- plus a traditional topping-out symbol: an evergreen bough. Some signed the beam in memory of cancer patients or to honor patients’ family members.

The Duke Cancer Center is scheduled for completion in early 2012, which is weeks ahead of the original schedule as a result of work led by Monte Brown, M.D., DUHS vice president for administration; Kevin Sowers, MSN, RN, FAAN; and others on the team overseeing and managing the project.

The center will add 267,000 square feet of clinical space for patient-focused cancer care, including a light-filled lobby and treatment rooms, a rooftop terrace and gardens, and quiet spaces for conversation or reflection. The new building will centralize services such as chemotherapy and imaging that have been spread throughout the medical center.

“This is an incredible moment in the life of Duke Medicine, because today demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our community and to the hope we bring to the patients and families we serve each and every day,” said Sowers.