When was Ananda Lewis diagnosed with cancer? Health struggles explored as Former MTV VJ dies at 52

Ananda Lewis, the 90s era MTV VJ and talk show host, has died at the age of 52, leaving behind a legacy of vibrant television presence along with a heartbreaking battle with breast cancer. Her death on June 11, 2025, as confirmed by her sister, Lakshmi Emory, revealed the full scope of the health difficulties she had faced since first receiving the diagnosis.

Lewis first noticed a lump in her right breast in December 2018. After a thermography scan and subsequent biopsy in January 2019, she was diagnosed with Stage 3, ER/PR positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. This discovery set off a difficult time of health struggles.

When she was first diagnosed, doctors suggested a double mastectomy. But Ananda Lewis, prompted by her mother’s traditional cancer journey and her own spirituality and conspiracy belief in natural healing, declined to have immediate surgery:

"It’s not that I don’t trust the medical community. I do, with certain things, but I see a flaw in how they think about treating cancer. So I knew that I would address it in a different way," she told Essence in January 2025.

Instead, she decided to look elsewhere and to a more holistic way of dealing with cancer. According to TV Insider, she mixed conventional treatment with homeopathic methods. She also used treatments like high doses of vitamin C IVs, hyperbaric chamber sessions, and doing exercises while carefully monitoring her tumor.

More about Ananda Lewis's fight against cancer and her regret for not choosing the right form of medication

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ananda Lewis found out that her tumor had progressed to the next stage, so she underwent genetically targeted fractionated chemotherapy, which is a treatment that is intended to hit cancerous cells while limiting harm to healthy tissue, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In October 2023, a PET showed she had Stage 4 cancer. At this stage, she went to an integrative nerve center. While she had previously said she regretted turning down mammograms because of fears about radiation, she had also said it was important for women to educate themselves and take preventative care seriously:

“I still am on the fence about mammograms. I’m gonna rephrase that. My biggest mistake was not staying on top of early detection. I could have used 3D ultrasound... We all got to make our own choices. I’m living with the consequences of mine," she said in an interview on the Check the Rhymes TV YouTube channel.

Ananda Lewis openly admitted that when she first started managing her own health, she focused more on detoxification and had a strong belief in the body’s natural healing factor. But eventually, Lewis admitted that she did not focus on early detection and didn't even make time for routine mammograms:

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"I decided to keep my tumor 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,'" she told CNN last year.

Ever since the diagnosis, Ananda Lewis became a part-time content creator using her platform to teach her followers about health and wellness. She gave tips for removing dangerous ingredients from the kitchen and explained the lesser-known health benefits of drinking water.

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