Local girl will be featured Wednesday on NBC's "The Doctors"

Local girl will be featured Wednesday on NBC's "The Doctors"

Graycen Beardslee, a 6-year-old Blodgett, Mo. girl who has XP, will be featured on the television show "The Doctors." The show will air at 11 a.m. Wednesday on NBC. The topic of the show is "the top five warning signs that your health is at risk."

Xeroderma pigmentosum is a rare genetic disorder that makes Graycen extremely sensitive to sunlight. Her body is unable to repair skin damage from ultraviolet rays, and she must avoid sunlight or wear special protective clothes to go outside.

After an article about Graycen ran in the Southeast Missourian in September, staff from The Doctors contacted her mother, Kimberly Beardslee, about being featured on their show. Beardslee said a crew spent about six hours at their house interviewing the family and attended one of Graycen's doctor appointments.

Beardslee and Graycen flew to Los Angeles for the filming of the show earlier this month. Beardslee said their segment is about five minutes long. On its website, "The Doctors" is dubbed as a "groundbreaking new talk show" that provides frank discussions about health care "in a fascinating, off-the-cuff manner."