Dustin Diamond of How Saved By The Bell ‘ignored a huge lump in his neck before his death’

Dustin Diamond ignored a “huge lump” on his neck before dying of cancer, according to a new report.

The 44-year-old star of Saved By The Bell passed away in Florida on Monday, just three weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma.

Diamond’s girlfriend, Tash Jules, was by his side when he died – and it was she who insisted that he had the large lump checked last month.

“He wasn’t feeling well and he had a lump on his neck that he ignored,” Diamond’s manager, Roger Paul, told People on Tuesday.

He feared public attention when he entered the hospital. But in the end his girlfriend took him and the doctors confirmed it was cancer. ‘

Paul’s comments echo what Diamond’s friend, Dan Block, told The Sun last month, following the sitcom star’s diagnosis of shock cancer.

“It started as a tumor on his neck – a huge lump in his throat – and it was very visible,” Block told the tabloid.

“He was worried someone would take pictures of it and post them online.”

Diamond didn’t share any social media photos of the lump, and the actor’s last known photo was a selfie that showed him in his hospital bed before he died.

Diamond felt unwell in the weeks leading up to his hospital appointment.

After being diagnosed with small cell lung carcinoma in early January, he underwent a round of chemotherapy and remained optimistic despite the odds he faced.

Of course he was scared, but he tried to find the humor in it. Dustin tried to be as positive as possible during everything – he was – but he was scared, ” Paul told People on Tuesday.

‘He was on chemo – he tried everything he could. But it didn’t work. ‘

The news of Diamond’s death on Monday sent a torrent of grief from Saved By The Bell fans around the world – but the actor had spent decades trying to escape the role that made him famous.

Diamond was first cast as lovable nerd Sam ‘Screech’ Powers in 1988, when he was only 11 years old. Stephen Colbert initially auditioned for the role, but was unsuccessful.

The child star’s character was one of the most loved on the super popular sitcom, which ran for four seasons.

Diamond spent his teenage years in the limelight of the public eye, but he later revealed that the attention had an adverse effect.

Full-time filming for the program ceased in 1992, when Diamond was only 16 years old. He then struggled to find roles in which he did not characterize as a Saved By The Bell-style geek.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Diamond said during a 2013 interview with Oprah’s OWN network

“It was hard to get a job that wasn’t a Screech clone.”

In 2016, during an interview with Extra, he similarly said, “ I’m proud of the work I’ve done when I’ve done it. It’s just, how do you get out of such a phenomenal role of this Screech character and break out of that mold and do something else? ‘

“I auditioned, and every time they said,” Hey, we loved it, but we saw too much Screech in it. ” Well I can’t change my bone structure, what do you want me to do?

The teen idol struggled with having a career before even reaching adulthood, then battling substance abuse, legal dramas and money troubles

‘The hardest thing about being a child star is giving up your childhood. You don’t actually get a childhood, ”Diamond told OWN.

In 2009, he released an autobiography entitled Behind The Bell, in which he revealed that he didn’t get along with his fellow stars and claimed they used drugs on set.

Diamond later claimed that the book was written by a ghostwriter and that the claims were ‘exaggerated’. He told the media that he had tried to get in touch with his old co-stars and apologize.

Despite this, Diamond was not invited to star in the 2020 revival of the show, which is now streaming on Peacock.

“We are aware that Dustin is not considered a good name by most,” his agent, Roger Paul, said Monday.

He had a history of accidents, of unfortunate events. We want the public to understand that he was not willfully malicious. Like the rest of those who misbehave and behave badly, he had experienced much unrest and heartache. ‘

While he was a major reason for the show’s success, Diamond’s career ran in the wake of Saved By The Bell.

He later appeared on reality shows such as Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Boxing 2 and Celebrity Big Brother.

In recent years, Diamond has also worked as a stand-up comedian.

In 2006, he released a sex tape called Screeched-Saved by the Smell which he directed and supposedly starred in. Diamond later claimed it wasn’t actually him in the video and that it was a stuntman with his face on it.

“ The sex tape is something I’m most ashamed of, ” he said during the 2013 interview.

“You know, I sure got some money from it, but it wasn’t worth the consequences. I mean people to this day, they look down on me. ‘

On Christmas in 2014, Diamond got into a bar fight and is said to have stabbed a man in a town near Milwaukee. The following year, he was found guilty of disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.

He was sentenced to four months in prison and three months served.

Diamond later told Mario Lopez, his former co-star who was then the host of Extra, that someone hit his then-fiancé Amanda Schutz while they were celebrating Christmas. He said he took his pocket knife to protect her.

When Saved by the Bell rebooted, Diamond – unlike other original cast members – was not asked to return. The show premiered on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock, in November 2020.

Diamond ran into financial difficulties during his career and filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

He was also charged several times in back taxes and in foreclosure proceedings for missing mortgage payments.

He once launched an extensive crowdfunding bid to save his home, selling face-up T-shirts to raise $ 250,000.

The backs of the T-shirts read “I paid $ 15.00 to save Screeech’s house.” The extra ‘e’ was reportedly added to prevent copyright infringement.

Diamond has no children and leaves his father and girlfriend behind.

He married Jennifer Misner in 2009, but they divorced in 2013. Misner reportedly miscarried when the two were dating in 2004.

Diamond later became engaged to Schutz – the woman he said he protected when he stabbed the man in Wisconsin. It is unclear when exactly they broke up.