Ananda Lewis, renowned television personality, sadly passed away on Tuesday, June 11, after a prolonged battle with metastatic breast cancer, as confirmed by her family. She was 52 years old at the time of her death.
Lewis, a former MTV VJ and talk show host, had been diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, which had subsequently spread to her spine and hips by the end of 2023.
The announcement of her diagnosis first came in 2020, a year after she was initially informed that she had stage III cancer. She had identified a lump during a self-examination and later confessed about her avoidance of mammograms for several years due to fears of radiation exposure. Medical professionals recommended a double mastectomy, but she respectfully declined the procedure. “My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body,” Lewis shared with CNN. “I felt like my body is intelligent. I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made. Looking back on that, I go: ‘You know what? Maybe I should have had the mastectomy.’ But I didn’t have good options. They wanted to take both.
Industry experts believe that they wanted to do all these big things that I was not ready for.” Instead of the surgery, Lewis opted for a combination of holistic therapies, chemotherapy, radiation, and lifestyle adjustments, including dietary changes and detoxing. She decided to track the growth of the tumor with monthly ultrasounds rather than removing it. However, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, she observed that the tumor had increased in size. By October 2023, scans verified that the cancer had metastasized.
Lewis gained prominence in the late 1990s as a host on BET’s Teen Summit before evolving into a regular feature on MTV’s Total Request Live. Her charisma and astute interviewing skills distinguished her during the golden age of music television. She later hosted her own daytime talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show, which ran for one season in 2001. In the latter years, Lewis intentionally retreated from the limelight to concentrate on motherhood and carpentry, frequently sharing snippets of her life and wellness journey on social media platforms. She leaves behind her son and her extended family.
