Staying strong. Scrubs alum Sam Lloyd has been diagnosed with cancer. Show creator Bill Lawrence revealed the news on GoFundMe, and Us Weekly confirmed the validity of the fundraising campaign on Tuesday, February 5.
“By all accounts, 2019 was off to a roaring start for our dear friend, Sam Lloyd. He and his wife, Vanessa, had recently welcomed their first child, a beautiful boy named Weston to the world. The musical that Sam had been working on for over a decade had just been accepted into a prestigious theatre accelerator program,” reads a description for the page. “There was so much to be grateful for… Midway through January, Sam began to experience headaches and he had lost 10 pounds.”
Although Lloyd “figured the headaches were caused by the lack of sleep” that accompanied parenthood, he sought medical advice in mid-January “as his headaches grew stronger,” according to the campaign’s description.
“The doctor thought the pain might be sinus-related so he ordered a CT Scan. The scan revealed a mass on Sam’s brain. Within a day, he was in brain surgery. Unfortunately the tumor was too intertwined so the surgeons couldn’t remove it,” the page’s message continued. “By Sunday, Sam and Vanessa were informed that the cancer in his brain had metastasized from his lungs. Further scans showed the cancer was also in his liver, spine and jaw. In the face of this devastating news, Sam and Vanessa have been incredibly strong and positive. Humor and laughter, which have been a huge part of Sam’s life, will undoubtedly help him with what lies ahead.”
As of Tuesday, more than $32,000 out of the $100,000 goal has been donated to support the 55-year-old actor, who starred as Ted Buckland on Scrubs from 2001 to 2009. Lawrence set up the page, which has since been retweeted by Zach Braff (Dr. John Dorian), Donald Faison (Dr. Christopher Turk) and John C. McGinley (Dr. Perry Cox). Busy Philipps, who starred as Laurie Keller on Lawrence’s series Cougar Town, also retweeted the account’s link.
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