Quebec radio host and passionate Canadian music advocate Andreanne Sasseville has died after a long battle with cancer.
Sasseville died Monday morning, according to a Facebook post by Sirius XM Franco.
"Passionate about music and determined to make local talent known, Andreanne was respected by artists as much as by her peers," a translated version of the statement said. "She will be dearly missed."
The host of Sirius XM's Attitude Franco show had been battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer since May, 2014. The disease started in her breasts and spread to affect her liver, lungs, ovaries and bones, despite treatment.
Sasseville was a popular personality on the Sirius airwaves for several years. She was also a common sight at movie theatres in English-speaking parts of the country during the early 2010s, as the host of the Cineplex Backstage Pass pre-show. The segments featured Sasseville interviewing a wide range of emerging Canadian musicians.
Sasseville was a frequent champion of homegrown artists, and once spoke to the Canadian Heritage Committee about investing in grassroots initiatives to improve the lot of Canadian musicians.
Sasseville addressed her cancer diagnosis in a French-language interview posted to YouTube in August.
Many French-speaking fans expressed their sadness over her death on Twitter Tuesday.
Sasseville's bio on the Sirius webpage says she had "over 600 interviews under her belt" between her radio and Cineplex gigs.
"It's the perfect job for her since she has a unique take on creativity: 'Your life's a soundtrack built through every experience,'" the bio says.
