During a segment on FOX29’s Good Day Philadelphia, longtime co-host Mike Jerrick unexpectedly found himself the subject of the story when a guest doctor diagnosed him with skin cancer live on-air.
Dr. Joanna Walker, a dermatologist from the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at the University of Pennsylvania, examined a spot on Jerrick’s right elbow during the live skin care segment.
She immediately identified it as basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.
The condition is highly treatable, the doctor noted.
“It has all the features of the most common type of skin cancer, which is also very treatable when it’s caught early,” Walker explained.
Caught off guard, Jerrick asked,
“What are you going to do to it, burn it off?”
To which Walker replied that it would more likely need to be “cut and stitched.”
“What?!” he responded in shock.
She reassured viewers and Jerrick that while basal cell is a slow-growing cancer unlikely to spread.
“You do need to remove it so it doesn’t keep growing and take over normal skin,” Walker explained.
In a follow-up statement, Jerrick admitted the diagnosis caught him off guard.
Even though he’d joked about having Dr. Walker check some spots during the segment, he never expected to be diagnosed with cancer,
“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,” he said.
“But I never really thought it was going to be skin cancer.”
“When she blurted it out, I didn’t get alarmed or anything,” he added.
“It was just like, ‘Oh dang, I should have done this a long time ago.’”
What surprised him most wasn’t the diagnosis, but the treatment plan:
“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 area removed on Friday.
“I should be fine,” he said.
“She’ll just suture me up and I’ll be on my way.”
The segment has drawn praise from viewers for raising awareness.
Jerrick used the moment to encourage others:
“It’s important to get those checked.”
WATCH:
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, basal cell carcinoma affects 3.6 million Americans annually.
This story is a stark reminder of the importance of routine skin checks and early detection, especially as summer approaches.
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