Earlier this week, we reported on the sudden, largely unexplained hospitalization of Saved By The Bell star Dustin Diamond, who reportedly entered an undisclosed Florida hospital over the weekend for treatment. Now Entertainment Weekly has reported back in with some grim context for that medical mystery, writing today that Diamond has reportedly been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, i.e., a cancer that has metastasized to multiple areas of the patient’s body.
Per EW, a rep for the actor said he’ll issue a formal statement on his diagnosis sometime soon, as doctors are still apparently working to figure out where, exactly, the cancer started. (One rep for Diamond reportedly stated that it began with “a huge lump on his throat.”) Further details about Diamond’s condition are currently unavailable for the most part, although a representative did say that he’s feeling relatively well today, and that “By next week, we’ll have a much better understanding of the severity of his condition and what treatments he will need so that he’s comfortable.” Per the same EW piece, he’s reportedly undergoing his first round of chemotherapy.
Diamond, 44, has been a divisive and controversial figure in the years since he achieved teenage stardom as Saved By The Bell’s Screech, facing legal troubles, and publishing a tell-all memoir about his time on the show that was at odds with many of his co-stars’ stated experiences. (He later blamed a ghost writer for many of the book’s more outrageous claims.) Unlike a few of his castmates, he did not appear in the recent revival of the series for Peacock, reportedly due to contract negotiations possibly falling through.