Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Says Her Cancer Is Stage IV After She Refused Operation
Ananda Lewis, a television host and former model best known as an MTV VJ during the late '90s, recently revealed that her breast cancer has grown to stage IV after she had previously gone against doctors' recommendations for a double mastectomy.
Lewis first revealed she had breast cancer in a video on Instagram in 2020, explaining then that she had refused mammograms for years due to a fear of being exposed to the radiation from X-ray machines.
After the diagnosis, she decided to pursue homeopathic remedies on top of medication and radiation in her attempt to beat the cancer, as she explained during a recent round-table conversation on cancer with CNN anchors Stephanie Elam and Sara Sidner — Snider underwent a double mastectomy for her own breast cancer earlier this year.
But Lewis tells the women that she initially felt empowered to pursue other avenues of healing, which seemed to be working until she learned that her breast cancer had metastasized and is now stage IV.
"My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body," Lewis tells them in the video, as People summarized.
"I felt like my body is intelligent; I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made," she explains.
Lewis adds, "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."
Ultimately, however, she discovered last year that the cancer had spread.
"I was just like, 'Fudge man, I really thought I had this,'" Lewis explains. "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.' "
She adds, "It was the first time I ever had a conversation with death because I felt like: This is how it is."
Article originally published on 'Music Times.'
