The 44-year-old actor is battling stage 4 cancer.
Dustin Diamond is battling cancer. The Saved by the Bell star's team revealed his diagnosis on Facebook on Thursday, two days after news broke of his hospitalization.
"At this time we can confirm that Dustin does have cancer," reads the statement shared on Diamond's Facebook page. "Dustin will disclose more information once it is available and a plan moving forward is made."
"We ask everyone to respect Dustin's privacy during this difficult time," the statement continued. "All positivity and prayers are appreciated."
A member of Diamond's team tells ET that he has stage 4 cancer, and has already started chemotherapy. The doctors are hoping the chemo will give him a few more years but it is still unconfirmed if the illness is terminal. They are still running additional tests, and will have more information as soon as the results come in.
Back in October, Diamond notified a member of his team about a lump on his throat, assuming it could be thyroid cancer, but he was hesitant to visit the hospital due to COVID, his team adds.
ET learned on Tuesday that Diamond was hospitalized in Florida over the weekend after feeling pain all over his body and a general sense of unease.
Diamond's team told ET at the time that he was "undergoing tests" to find the cause of his pain, but noted that his doctors were concerned it could be cancer. "All we ask is just people put him in [their] thoughts and prayers," his team said.
Diamond is best known for playing Screech on Saved by the Bell and its follow-up shows from 1989 to 2000. He did not appear in the show's recent reimagining, which premiered on Peacock last year.
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