Lisa Corso, in the black shirt, a Butler AHN cancer patient, stands with Mascaro Construction employees behind the signed beam that commemorates the end of phase one for the AHN Cancer Institute — Butler in Pullman Square on Wednesday.

A one-stop cancer treatment center in Butler is one step closer to reality after the last beam was set into place Wednesday morning.

The Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute — Butler facility celebrated finishing phase one of construction with a beam signing.

The signed beam was white, a stark contrast to the steel blue of the rest of the structure and the signatures were from Lisa Corso, Dr. Bushra Haq and Dr. David Parda.

Corso, a Butler resident, was diagnosed with cancer 4½ years ago and is a patient at West Penn Oncology Network, which will move to the new cancer institute. While she's been able to have almost all of her treatment done locally, instead of traveling to Pittsburgh, Corso is looking forward to receiving treatment all in one place.

“I work four days a week.” Corso said. “In the event that I have to get more treatments, it's close to home.”

Treating her close to home is Haq, Corso's oncologist, who is excited for the change as well.

Currently Haq practices at the West Penn Oncology Network located at Benbrook Medical Center. She says Benbrook is set up more like an office than a treatment center.“It's going to be so nice to have a state-of-the-art facility. It's a brand-new building constructed specifically to treat cancer. It's going to be great,” Haq said. “Patients improve much better when they can get full care in one place.”One of the people responsible for bringing the cancer institute to Butler is David Parda, chairman of the AHN Cancer Institute. Parda said that the facility in Butler is just one component of a $225 million commitment by AHN and Highmark Health to bring comprehensive cancer care to the region, with Butler being one of four cancer treatment centers currently under construction.

He said signing and installing the beam brings AHN one step closer that goal.“We plan on this building being here forever,” he said.According to Gary Franz, project superintendent, the next phase involves laying down slabs for both floors, framing the walls and adding insulation.The 34,000-square-foot building is on schedule to open mid-2019, Parda said in a news release.

The work completed by June 1 included the walls being poured for the center's linear accelerator.