This Saturday, flaggers will be present along East North Avenue to direct delivery trucks into and out of the site of AGH’s forthcoming Academic Cancer Center.

By Ashlee Green

This weekend, Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in the Northside will be receiving deliveries of medical equipment called Gamma Pods for its new, $80 million Academic Cancer Center on East North Avenue. While there will be no street closures, flaggers will be present to direct delivery trucks into and out of the site and some traffic slowdowns may occur.

A crane is scheduled to be set up by Kerr Rigging at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 and by 8 a.m., the Gamma Pod equipment will start to be delivered. Pods will be lifted onto the cancer center’s basement floor and transported to a Gamma Pod vault. Deliveries are estimated to be complete, and the crane dismantled, by 3 p.m.

The Gamma Pod is an innovative technology for treating early-stage breast cancer, and AGH is one of just a few centers across the nation that will offer it. The technology delivers high, localized doses of radiation to tumors while limiting radiation exposure to vital tissue like the lungs, heart, ribs, and skin. There are fewer cosmetic side effects, like discoloration of breast tissue, and potentially less itching and burning, than that of traditional radiation treatments. Additionally, traditional radiation treatments generally take around four to six weeks, whereas treatment with the Gamma Pod can take as little as one to five days.

The AGH Academic Cancer Center is located between the Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) South Tower and the parking garage on Sandusky Street. It’s final steel beam was raised in July of this year. The center is set to open in the spring of 2020.