"Saved By the Bell" child star Dustin Diamond has been hospitalized and the diagnosis could be cancer, according to emerging reports. The 44-year-old actor was rushed to the hospital in Florida this weekend after experiencing pain in his body and although no official diagnosis has been revealed, sources close to Diamond told E! News that "cancer is likely the prognosis," although "doctors are still running tests to figure out what is wrong."
Cancer reportedly runs in Diamond's family and his mother died of breast cancer, TMZ reported. It is unclear what cancer doctors suspect Diamond could be facing.
Diamond is best known for playing the role of Samuel "Screech" Powers in four seasons of "Saved by the Bell," which aired between 1989 and 1993. He reprised the role in the spin-off, "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" for seven seasons until the show ended in 2000. He was not cast in NBC's recent reboot, which features his former castmates Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Lark Voorhies. His lack of appearance in the show may be linked to his controversial past.
Diamond was arrested in 2014 for stabbing a man with a switchblade knife during a Christmas-night fight, which resulted in a non-life-threatening wound. At the time, Diamond said he pulled the knife to defend himself and his then-fiancée, Amanda Schutz, who was accused of pushing a woman who was harassing the couple.
He was found guilty of two misdemeanor offenses and spent three months behind bars for the crime, The Sun noted. In 2016, Diamond found himself back in jail after violating his probation and taking an Oxycodone pill.
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