 Cancer. It's a very scary word. But an outstanding treatment facility was here at home. I was led to the Lawson Cancer Center. As a nurse practitioner at the Lawson Cancer Center, we are champions for our patients. I am so happy for Robert. The treatment worked. On Friday, April 14th, the University of Pico partnered with the U.K. College of Dentistry, the Kentucky Mountain Dental Society and the United Health Foundation to host an oral cancer summit. Because Eastern Kentucky has one of the highest oral cancer rates in the nation, a $1 million grant funded project is addressing the situation. Dental professionals and students were in attendance to share research and discuss their topics. This oral cancer summit is to bring together oral health professionals, dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants into one place from the region and to educate them on all aspects of oral cancer. So, how to diagnose it, what to look for, how to prevent it, how to talk to patients, how to take a biopsy, when to refer it, who to refer to, and then the patient experience. What to do with patients after they've had the surgery and they have problems with eating, drinking, speaking, and those kinds of things. Stein comments on how well-equipped Eastern Kentucky is when it comes to treating oral cancer. However, she claims that more oral health care providers are needed to address the problem. We do still have some very high rates of oral cancer, particularly in females, which is unusual. Usually, oral cancer is a disease of males. And also, in Eastern Kentucky, we have high rates of younger people. And normally, oral cancer is a disease of older people. So, those are things that we need to communicate with dentists, because they need to know to be looking for these things, that it doesn't always happen in older men, that we're seeing it in this region, especially in women and in younger people. We need more of those health care providers. We just don't have enough, really, to meet the need. And so, what happens is a lot of times patients have to travel to Kentucky, to UK, to go to the cancer center there to have their treatment. And sometimes that traveling is hard. It's hard to make that journey. So, that's one of the reasons we wanted to start the dental school. We want to provide access to care for people in all types of situations that have dental issues, including oral cancer. Reporting from Mountain Top News, I'm Nick Colum.