'Real World' Star Dies: Sean Sasser Had Rare Lung Cancer, Dead at 44
Sean Sasser, a Real World: San Francisco cast member, died of cancer at the age of 44.
The AIDS and Civil Rights activist's cast mate Judd Winick took to Twitter yesterday to confirm the news.
Winick's tweet read, "Our friend Sean Sasser has died. Our love goes out to his family & husband Michael. We will miss u so much."
His tweet was accompanied by a collage of Sasser.
Sasser married his other cast mate Pedro Zamora on the reality TV show. Zamora died in 1994 only hours after the season finale of The Real World aired, USA Today reported Aug. 8.
Zamora reportedly died from complications of HIV, Queerty.com reported Aug. 7. The publication also said that some people believe stress from filming the show led to his deterioration in health. At the time, HIV medications were not as effective as they are today.
Sasser's life partner Michael Kaplan said that Sasser died of mesothelioma, a rare type of lung cancer, Queerty.com reported.
Mesothelioma has been linked to a weakened immune system in some people with AIDS and Sasser was HIV positive.
Sasser was living in Washington and working as a pastry chef, USA Today reported.
It is obvious the activist made an impact on many and will be missed by all.
Shawn Decker, a contributing writer for POZ Blogs, wrote in a Aug. 8 blog entry, "Sean was one of my heroes. When The Real World: San Francisco aired on MTV in 1994, I had a year's worth of high school diploma under my belt but no real plan about what I wanted to do with my life, which made me not too much different from most 18-year olds."
The blogger continued, "I sat on my bed, but I wanted to jump out of my skin and do something about HIV- not as me, though, as someone else," Decker said about watching the reality show. "A few months later, I finally opened up. The impact of Sean Sasser and his Real World alum has never been lost on me. Before any of us could crack a laptop or iPhone and search "living with HIV", there was that group of young people dealing with HIV, conveniently bringing the topic into our living rooms."
