PEORIA, Ill. – The last piece of steel to be placed on top of the still-under-construction OSF Cancer Institute in Peoria is ready to go, now that a number of people have put their mark on it.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center hosted a ceremony where sisters and cancer survivors alike signed the beam before it’s installed.
Among the signers was the “Crew 309” Rowing Team — made up exclusively of breast cancer survivors. Lindsay Vlaminck is their Outreach Coordinator, and wasn’t expecting how she’d feel.
“Surprisingly emotional, it really was,” said Vlaminck. “To think that this is something that’s going to be in that building for decades, and it’s something that future members are going to frequent that building, and potentially even our current members are going to frequent that building, we’ll know that the strength of our women are holding up the walls.”
While many people got the chance to sign the beam that will go on the building, what will go IN the building will be a big deal for the region.
“Proton therapy is a technology that isn’t available outside of Chicago or St. Louis,” said Robert Anderson, president, OSF St. Francis Medical Center. “When this building opens, it will have state-of-the-art proton therapy unequaled by anyone in the United States.”
Proton therapy is a form of radiation that destroys the cells around tumors.
The beam will be installed next Thursday. Construction is still about two years away from completion.
Crew 309, by the way, was founded in 2017 but had its first water season last summer, and they’re currently looking for volunteers.
Check back for our full conversation with Lindsay Vlaminck, or CLICK HERE to find out more.
(Will Stevenson/1470 & 100.3 WMBD)
