Blodgett 6-year-old to appear on 'The Doctors' Wednesday

Graycen Beardslee's rare genetic disease will be highlighted in the episode

SIKESTON -- A Scott County first grader will appear in an episode of a syndicated medical talk show Wednesday.

Graycen Beardslee, 6, of Blodgett is slated to be in a segment of "The Doctors," a talk show featuring four practitioners with four different specialties -- an emergency room physician; pediatrician; obstetrician and gynecologist; and plastic surgeon and reconstructive surgery expert. Wednesday's episode addresses the top five warning signs that a person's health is at risk, according to the show's Web site.

Graycen appears later in the show when the hosts discuss applying sunscreen, said her mother, Kim Beardslee. It's then when Graycen's rare genetic condition, Xeroderma Pigmentosum, is highlighted. XP causes a person to be extremely sensitive to the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation.

"It's a short segment, but it's good," Beardslee said about her daughter's appearance on the talk show. "It's not skewed or anything."

During the episode, Graycen interacts with Dr. Travis Stork (who is also an ABC Bachelor) and Dr. James Sears. Jay McGraw serves as executive producer of the show which is a spinoff of his father's talk show, "Dr. Phil."

Beardslee said a crew from the show came to Graycen's home about three weeks ago and filmed there. They also followed along to a doctor's visit, and then flew Graycen and her mother to California for the show's taping, she said.

Distributed by CBS Television, "The Doctors" airs locally at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday on NBC.