Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis reveals stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis after choosing to 'keep my tumor'

We are committed to the recovery of former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis.

The 51-year-old, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, revealed in a new CNN roundtable discussion that her disease has metastasized and is now in stage IV. Lewis was joined on the special by her best friend and CNN journalist Stephanie Elam and CNN anchor Sara Sidner, who was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer earlier this year and recently completed her final treatment.

During the segment, Lewis explained that she did not opt ​​for a double mastectomy after receiving her diagnosis. By the time she discovered a lump in her breast – after initially avoiding a mammogram out of fear of radiation – the disease was in stage three.

“My initial plan was to eliminate excess toxins from my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that. Our bodies are superbly built,” Lewis told Elam and Sidner.

“I have decided to keep my tumor and try to remove it from my body through other means,” she continued. “When I think back on it, I think, ‘You know what? Maybe I should have done it.'”

In a voice-over narration, Elam shared that Lewis pursued holistic methods, rest and nutrition, as well as radiation and medication as a means of recovery. However, after initial improvement, the cancer spread.

Lewis mentioned that her “lymphatic system really flared up” and that it was “the first time I ever talked to death because I felt like, This is what it is.”

“I was like, 'Fudge, man, I really thought I had this.' “I was frustrated and a little angry with myself,” Lewis continued. “And I said, ‘Man, listen. I know you'll come to me eventually. But I don't want it to happen now. And if you could just wait, I promise you, when you come, I will.' I'll make sure you enjoy it.''

Lewis added that she “couldn't get out of bed for eight weeks” after this painful realization.

In her 2020 Instagram reel about being diagnosed with breast cancer, Lewis urged women to get their annual mammograms, calling her previous refusal a “mistake.”

“If I had had the mammograms when they were recommended to me when I turned 40, they would have discovered the tumor in my breast years earlier, before I would have discovered it through my own breast exam – self-examination – and thermography,” said Lewis.

“And they would have caught it in a place where it was more manageable – where treatment would have been a little easier. It's never easier, but I use that word in comparison to what I'm going through now. Instead I am dealing with stage 3 breast cancer that is in my lymphs. You need to have your mammogram done.

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