A representative of the actor, Dustin Diamond, best known for his rendition of the engaging nerdy Screech on ‘Saved by the Bell’, has completed his first round of chemotherapy for his stage 4 lung cancer.
Diamond’s manager revealed the 44-year-old cancer diagnosis last week, but said the former child star is waiting for test results to determine the exact location and nature of the cancer.
Diamond’s representative, Roger Paul, told NBC News on Thursday that he was struggling with stage 4 small cell carcinoma.
Paul says the next round of chemotherapy, and he will soon start physical therapy.
“Dustin is looking forward to spending more time with his girlfriend, playing his bass guitar / video games, and making videos for his fans on social media,” Paul said in a statement.
Diamond received fan mail, Paul added, and provided an address from Illinois for an auto insurance office for additional supporters wishing to express their support.
Diamond became famous in the nineties with his role of Samuel “Screech” Powers on “Saved by the Bell, playing the role of best friend and co-star of the show’s decidedly non-geeky main character, Zack Morris.
Although most of the original cast of the show returned after reloading the sitcom on the Peacock streaming platform, Diamond did not repeat his role. Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.
Diamond wrote the 2009 book, “Behind the Bell”, which portrayed the cast in a less than flattering light.
He also made some enemies while appearing in the reality show ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ in which he took on the role of the villain.
In 2001, Diamond filed for bankruptcy.
He was also arrested and convicted of his role in a fight at a bar in Wisconsin in 2014, in which Diamond stabbed another bar cartridge with a switch in the armpit. He was placed in a work release program after the start of his four-month sentence and was released a month earlier for good behavior.
