Days after news broke that Dustin Diamond was hospitalized, the Saved by the Bell alum, 44, confirmed his cancer diagnosis.

“At this time we can confirm that Dustin does have cancer,” his team announced in a Facebook statement on Thursday, January 14. “Dustin will disclose more information once it is available and a plan moving forward is made.”

The team continued, “We ask everyone to respect Dustin’s privacy during this difficult time. All positivity and prayers are appreciated.”

Along with the post, a mailing and email address was provided for anyone who “would like to send a card or letter.” Diamond’s team also asked that “no autograph requests be sent to this address as that isn’t what it’s for.”

In a statement to Us Weekly on Friday, January 15, Diamond’s rep provided a health update, calling the diagnosis “serious.”

“The rumor is stage IV. We just want to confirm it with the doctors before I say 100 percent that that’s it,” the statement read. “No matter what stage it is, cancer is a serious issue. He’s doing treatments — I say treatments because it can be more than chemo — and once he’s done the treatments, which will hopefully be sometime next week, we’ll have a better idea of how bad it is and the severity of what we need to do to help him heal.”

The rep added, “This is something that you never want to wish on anybody, and it’s just really sad.”

It was first reported that Diamond was admitted to Florida hospital with an unknown illness on Tuesday, January 12. According to TMZ, the former child star sought treatment “after feeling pain all over his body and a general sense of unease.” A rep also confirmed to Us Weekly at the time that Diamond was hospitalized and that “medical staff is currently running tests.”

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2021/01/saved-by-the-bell-star-dustin-diamond-confirms-cancer-diagnosis-may-be-stage-iv/