Many around the world are still mourning the loss of television personality Ananda Lewis, who passed away on June 11, 2025. She was 52 years old. She is survived by her son and her older sister, the latter of whom is now speaking out about her final days.
Lewis was an entertainment icon and known for her on-screen work at BET and MTV in the 1990s. She hosted popular TV shows such as “Teen Summit” and “Total Request Live.”
In 2020, the former VJ announced she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast in 2018. The cancer later progressed to Stage 4.
Lewis openly talked about choosing not to have the tumor removed from her body, opting out of getting a double mastectomy, full chemotherapy, or radiation. Instead, she focused on making changes to her lifestyle, such as dieting, limiting stress, energy work, and prayer.
Dr. Lakshmi Emory, Ananda’s older sister, spoke to “Entertainment Tonight” about the NAACP Image Award winner’s career and her final days.
“I think she had done everything she wanted to do,” Emory told “ET” correspondent Kevin Frazier when asked why Lewis chose to leave the spotlight of the entertainment business years ago.
Emory added, “She was just very careful about what she chose to do, I think in her later years, because she understood that time is precious energy and she wanted to put her time and energy into those things that were most important to her.”
Ananda’s sister said she was still involved in activism and also counseled other patients with cancer while undergoing both alternative and conventional treatments.
“I want to clarify because people are saying she chose not to get treatment, and that’s not true. She did have treatment, and she survived for over six years,” Emory explained.
Emory, a physician who practices in the Chicago area, continued, “She told me of her diagnosis, which was at that point Stage 3 in January of 2019. And from that point on, she was under a form of treatment. So either a more holistic treatment or traditional treatment, and towards the end she did embrace traditional treatment and took traditional medications under an oncologist’s care.”
She admitted it was “extremely difficult” to see Lewis go the alternative route instead of fully embracing science-based medical therapies. Both Emory and their mother are cancer survivors who went through traditional medical treatment.
“At some point, I had to really come to the understanding that this was her choice. This was her body, and this is how she wanted to proceed, and she was very successful in extending her life,” the sister said about Ananda’s medical decisions.
Lewis had already expressed regret in October 2020 about refusing mammograms before her diagnosis. Throughout her six-year cancer battle, Ananda’s opinions about how to heal her body evolved. Since then, she has been sharing her experience with the world, reflecting on the missteps she made by overlooking her body’s early warning signs.
“At the time, I was also not doing mammograms, which was a huge mistake because my mom had breast cancer and I knew my chances of experiencing it were higher because there was not a genetic link that we found so far, but certainly a genetic history,” Lewis shared in an interview with Atlanta Black Star in 2023. “So I should have been doing it.”
She discovered the lump shortly after finishing breastfeeding her son, but at the time, she didn’t recognize the potential link between her diagnosis and her family’s medical history.
“I found out by feeling my breasts,” Lewis stated. “I encourage women to do that monthly exam in the shower. And for me, it was soaping up my hands and still breathing and feeling around on our breasts. We have to know our bodies to know when something changes. That’s vital.”
In an October 2024 interview with CNN, the mother of one son admitted having second thoughts about not having the tumor removed.
CNN correspondent Sara Sidner, who was also diagnosed with breast cancer, but opted for a double mastectomy, chemo, and radiation, spoke about Lewis’ passing on-air.
Fellow CNN journalist Stephanie Elam joined Sidner for the conversation about their mutual longtime friend, sharing a text message she had received from her “bestie” Lewis before she lost her life.
“This is part of the text she sent me: ‘You know my feelings on this. We all go. These bodies are on loan and must be returned. We come in love and choose to leave it with love as well,’” Elam read.
“She was at peace with this decision,” Elam said. “She was calm about it. She wanted to go after breast cancer the way she did it, and I love my girl, but she was hard-headed.”
MTV VJ Ananda Lewis voiced a generation and built a strong community of music lovers. As we mourn her untimely passing, we know the light she brought to the industry will live on – as seen by her many joyous interactions with artists, tastemakers, and audiences everywhere. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/b8Roe5XK5c
— MTV (@MTV) June 13, 2025
Lewis addressed her changing viewpoints about treatment in a January 2025 essay published by Essence.
“I don’t want the story to be that because I said no to the conventional path I was initially offered, that’s why I ended up at Stage 4. That’s not true,” she wrote. “Sometimes, people end up here whether they do conventional or not.”
“I don’t want to spend one more minute than I have to suffering unnecessarily,” she continued. “That, for me, is not the quality of life I’m interested in. When it’s time for me to go, I want to be able to look back on my life and say, I did that exactly how I wanted to.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that Lewis died while in hospice care at her Los Angeles home, surrounded by family. The San Diego native is survived by a 14-year-old son named Langston, who graduated from middle school on the day of her death.
