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A Fox TV news anchor discovered this week that he had skin cancer during a live TV segment.
Mike Jerrick, co-host of “Good Day Philadelphia” on FOX29, was broadcasting a skin care segment with Dr. Joanna Walker, a dermatologist with the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
As they discussed the importance of checking the skin for signs of cancer, Walker inspected a spot on Jerrick’s right elbow, pronouncing that it was basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer.
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“It has all the features of the most common type of skin cancer, which is also very treatable when it’s caught early,” Walker said in the segment.
Jerrick expressed surprise, asking, “What are you going to do to it, burn it off?”
The dermatologist replied that the cancerous spot most likely needs to be “cut and stitched.”
The good news, she said, is that basal cell is a “very slow-growing type of skin cancer” that’s not likely to spread anywhere else on the body.
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“But you do need to remove it so it doesn’t keep growing and take over normal skin,” Walker advised.
Jerrick spoke with Fox News Digital about the revelation, noting that it was a complete surprise to him.
“I did say that we should have her bring her [micro]scope because I wanted to check out a couple of things on my arms, so that part was planned, but I never really thought it was going to be skin cancer,” he said.
The dermatologist recognized it right away, Jerrick shared.
“When she blurted it out, I didn’t get alarmed or anything,” Jerrick said. “It was just like, ‘Oh dang, I should have done this a long time ago.’”
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“I was more shocked that she said she was going to cut it out instead of burn it off — that’s where I got surprised.”
Jerrick is scheduled to have the cancerous spot removed on Friday.
“I should be fine,” he said. “She’ll just suture me up and I’ll be on my way.”
Many people have reached out to thank Jerrick for airing the segment.
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To those with similar markings or skin changes, “it’s important to get those checked,” he advised.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, affecting about 3.6 million Americans each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
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