Ananda Lewis, former MTV VJ and talk show host, died on June 11 at the age of 52 after a long battle with breast cancer. In an essay Lewis penned for Essence in January 2024, she detailed her breast cancer journey from her discovery of a lump in 2018 to her stage IV prognosis.
Lewis revealed that she initially chose to forgo traditional treatments in favor of a more holistic approach that included eliminating alcohol and sugar from her diet, stress management, Vitamin C IVs, and prayer. “My goal was to do things that supported my body’s ability to continue to be whole enough to heal, instead of destroying it up front,” she wrote.
A Difficult Journey
Doctors suggested Lewis undergo a double mastectomy along with chemotherapy and radiation, but Lewis opted out. “…these methods went against what I believed was right for my body,” she wrote. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Lewis found a facility in Arizona that provided integrated treatments such as genetically targeted fractionated chemotherapy as well as acupuncture and other methods.
The new approach seemed to be working, as Lewis noted, “When I left Arizona in December, I had gone down from stage 3 to stage 2. The cancer was out of my lymph nodes and the tumor significantly reduced.”
But the integrated approach took a financial toll. “I struggled to pay for the ongoing treatments that would have kept things at bay, and then I lost my insurance. It was two and a half years before I could really do any more effective treatment,” Lewis revealed.
When she received her stage IV prognosis in 2024, Lewis was still hopeful, but admitted she wished she had been more vigilant in taking care of herself before she developed cancer. “If I had known what I know now 10 years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up here,” she wrote. But she was also practical. “We’re not meant to stay here forever. We come to this life, have experiences—and then we go.”
Ananda Lewis’ Legacy
GettyLewis was not your typical MTV VJ. She was a Howard University graduate and journalist who hosted BET’s “Teen Summit,” where she got the opportunity to interview Hilary Clinton. It was that gig that caught the attention of MTV, and she was hired as a VJ in 1997.
Lewis’ journalism experience made her the perfect fit to cover serious topics for the network such as school violence and the death of her friend, R&B star Aaliyah. Ananda also hosted “Total Request Live” and “Hot Zone,” and interviewed the likes of Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, and NSYNC, among others.
It was clear that Lewis was one of the more popular VJ’s on MTV at the time, and she was named one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2000. Even music legend Prince was a fan, telling The New York Times, ”Ananda is Cleopatra. You know she’s a queen.”
Lewis leaves behind her son, Langston, who she welcomed in 2011 with ex-husband Harry Smith, brother of Will Smith.
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Ananda Lewis Revealed She Opted For Unconventional Cancer Treatment Prior to Her Death