Former MTV star Ananda Lewis announces her cancer has spread 4 years after diagnosis and surgery refusal

Ananda Lewis, who was a video jockey, or VJ, for the popular American TV channel first announced that she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in an Instagram post in 2020. Now, the 51-year old has given an update to her fans and has said her cancer has spread and progressed to stage 4.

Lewis recently appeared during a round-table discussion with two CNN climate change correspondents, Stephanie Elam and Sara Sidner, where she admitted her doctors recommended she have a double mastectomy after her diagnosis, but she refused.

“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. I decided to keep my tumour and try to work it out of my body a different way. Looking back on that, I go ‘you know what? Maybe I should have’.”

Speaking further about her decision not to have surgery, she added: “My quality of life was very important to me . . I want to want to be here. So I had to do it a certain way, for me.”

According to the CNN segment, Lewis’s methods of treating her breast cancer included medication, radiation, and improving her sleep and diet. Despite a period of improvement, she discovered last year that her cancer had spread however. “My lymph system really flared up,” she said. “It was the first time I ever had a conversation with death because I felt like this is how it is.

“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’.”

The MTV star went on to say that her condition then worsened to the point of her not being able to get out of bed for eight weeks. Sidner, who was also diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer earlier this year, reflected on her own experience after receiving her diagnosis. She said it made her realize that “I want to be here. . . I want to thrive in a way I have never felt before.”

A video of the exchange was shared on Instagram by Stephanie Elam along with the caption: “Ananda Lewis & Sara Sidner - these two are my sisters, my chosen family. We are there for each other in the good and the bad. 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.

“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 commented on the video: “It was incredible to have this conversation with you @stephelamtv and @sarasidnertv. Hoping for the best outcomes for EVERYONE pushing through life with cancer.”

In her original post, Lewis also encouraged women to receive annual mammograms as she admitted she had avoided them due to a fear of radiation exposure.