Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s latest partnership hits close to home.
The Saved by the Bell alum revealed that a family member is facing cancer and his wife, Catriona McGinn, has taken on a caregiving role. In a recent interview with People, he described the overwhelm that can follow a diagnosis — and why having someone else in the room can make a difference.
“A lot of the times when someone’s diagnosed with an ailment, there’s a paralysis, there’s a feeling of, the world is spinning,” he said. “And sometimes it’s up to the caregiver or the other person in the room to ask questions.”
Related story
Why Kim Kardashian Kept Her Recent Esophagus Surgery a Secret From Fans
Why He’s Talking About Biomarker Testing
Gosselaar is keeping the details of his family member’s diagnosis private, but he’s speaking up about treatment options through a new partnership with AstraZeneca to raise awareness of biomarker testing.
“Having seen people that I love navigate cancer, I thought it was important to join AstraZeneca in spreading the word about biomarker testing and guide people towards a more personalized treatment,” he told the outlet.
According to the National Cancer Institute, biomarker testing looks for genes, proteins, and other features of a person’s cancer that may help doctors choose a treatment. Even two people with the same type of cancer can have different biomarkers, which can affect how well certain treatments work. Testing can help identify options such as targeted therapies or immunotherapies, though it won’t find a treatment match for everyone or guarantee that a matched treatment will work.
“I thought it was important for people, in a time that our hearts break for these people, to understand that there’s a direction they can go in, there’s questions they can ask and open up these discussions,” he said.
The Health Habit He’s Prioritizing at Home
Learning more through the partnership has also made Gosselaar think about his own health. The father of four admitted that he “thought I was immortal in my 20s” and wishes he’d taken better care of his body. He’s tried plenty of wellness routines, from saunas to cold plunges, but these days, sleep is his priority.
“That is my number one and then I work off of there,” he said. “It’s like a branch, if my sleep is good then I know my nutrition’s gonna be good for the day. And then I know that I can perform at my best, both mentally and physically.”
At 52, he’s thinking about what he wants to keep doing in the years ahead, too. “Of course, I’d love to live as long as possible. But for me, it’s more of living a healthy life that allows me to still do the things that I’ve been doing since I was a teenager,” he added. “I don’t want my health to hold me back from living a great life.”
