Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis has confirmed that her breast cancer is now stage IV after she went against her doctor’s orders and decided not to undergo a double mastectomy.
Lewis, 51, was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer back in 2020 and confirmed the news on Instagram, admitting that she had refused mammograms for years due to a fear of radiation exposure.
In an interview with CNN’s Stephanie Elam, Lewis revealed that she decided to ‘keep’ her tumor and explained her reasons for refusing to have the surgery back when she was first diagnosed.
‘My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made,’ Lewis explained.
‘I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way,’ she continued, before adding: ‘Looking back on that, I go, “You know what? Maybe I should have.”‘
Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis has confirmed that her breast cancer is now stage IV after she opted against having a double mastectomy
Ananda sat down for a chat with CNN’s Stephanie Elam (right) and journalist Sara Sidner, who is also battling breast cancer
Instead, Lewis pursued homeopathic remedies as well as medication and radiation, and although her situation improved for a while, she discovered last year that her cancer had spread.
‘My lymph system really flared up. It was the first time I ever had a conversation with death because I felt like: This is how it is,’ she said candidly.
‘I was just like, “Fudge man, I really thought I had this.” I was frustrated, I was a little angry at myself, and I said, “Man, listen. I know you’re coming for me at some point. But I don’t want it to be now. And if you could just wait, I promise when you do come, I’m gonna make it fun for you.”‘
‘I literally had that conversation laying in my bed. I couldn’t get out of bed for, like, eight weeks,’ Lewis added.
Referring to her decision to not have surgery, Lewis said: ‘My quality of life was very important to me, like there’s a certain things I know I’m not gonna be okay with and I know myself. I want to want to be here, so I had to do it a certain way, for me.’
Lewis and Elam were joined by journalist Sara Sidner, who is also battling the disease after being diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer earlier this year.
Sidner, 52, underwent a double mastectomy in May and said that her cancer diagnosis had made her realize: ‘I want to be here… I want to thrive in a way I have never felt before.’
Posting about their candid conversation on Instagram, Elam said: ‘Ananda Lewis and Sara Sidner – these two are my sisters, my chosen family. We are there for each other in the good and the bad.
Ananda, pictured here in 1998, worked as an MTV veejay and went on to host her own talk show
The TV star, pictured here in March 2007, pursued homeopathic remedies as well as medication and radiation and improved her diet also
‘So when they both began their breast cancer journeys, I didn’t know how best to support them and I also realized I had no idea what modern cancer treatment looks like.’
She continued: ‘I’m forever grateful for their willingness to have this conversation with me – to fully open up for the world.
‘If we can get just one woman to get their mammogram because of this conversation, that’s success. I want everyone to live long, healthy lives.’
Lewis worked as an MTV veejay from the late 1990s until 2001, when she left the network to host her own broadcast syndicated television talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show.
She was a correspondent for The Insider from 2004 to 2005. She then became a carpenter and hosted the 2019 revival of While You Were Out on TLC.
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