Why Ananda Lewis Refused a Double Mastectomy After Cancer Diagnosis

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Several months prior to Ananda Lewis’s passing from breast cancer, the former MTV VJ provided her perspective on the decision against undergoing a double mastectomy.

Ananda’s sister, Lakshmi Lewis, shared the announcement of her death on Facebook on Wednesday, June 11, stating, “She’s free, and in His Heavenly arms.”

At the age of 52, Ananda had chronicled her experience with cancer in an essay featured in Essence earlier in January.

“Do whatever you can to ensure my story does not become yours,” she encouraged her audience. “Had I possessed the knowledge I have now a decade ago, I might not have found myself in this position. I would have been engaging in cold plunges, exercising regularly, ensuring my vitamin D intake was adequate, detoxifying my body monthly and yearly, and improving my sleep. I would have pursued everything I am now compelled to do in order to prevent further cancer development and eliminate what has already manifested.”

Ananda received a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in January 2019.

“I was informed that my tumor was developing at a moderate pace, and the complete plan they recommended for my treatment was quite extreme,” she recounted in Essence. “I was clearly wary and was reassured that I could take the necessary time to reach my decision.”

“I immersed myself in research and discovered that environmental and lifestyle choices account for 90 percent of cancer causes,” she elaborated. “Consequently, I eliminated alcohol from my diet. I ceased sugar intake. I engaged in a detox to rid my body of accumulated toxins. I altered my stress management practices. My aim was to adopt habits that bolstered my body’s ability to remain intact enough to heal, rather than dismantling it upfront.”

She further expressed, “Additionally, I couldn’t find a way to incorporate the double mastectomy, comprehensive chemotherapy, and possibly the radiation treatment they recommended into my already overloaded life. More importantly, these approaches contradicted my beliefs about what was best for my body.”

In the summer of 2020, she noticed the tumor’s recurrence and sought treatment at an integrative health center in Arizona.

“I felt devastated to leave my son,” she reflected, referring to her 14-year-old son Langston, whom she had with Harry Smith, Will Smith’s brother. “I had never been away from him, not even for a weekend. Yet, I was in warrior mode, resolute in reclaiming my health for both our sakes.”

By December, “I had progressed from stage 3 to stage 2. The cancer was no longer in my lymph nodes, and the tumor had greatly diminished.”

Later on, Ananda faced financial difficulties in accessing further treatment and lost her health insurance. In January 2023, she regained her insurance, and a subsequent scan revealed that the tumor had increased in size “a little” but “had not metastasized elsewhere.”

Nevertheless, that October, a subsequent scan indicated “that the cancer had aggressively spread throughout my body,” she stated. “Once it extends to a location beyond the initial site, that categorizes you as stage 4. I reached out to my family again and resumed treatment at a holistic facility nearer to my residence in Southern California. By January 2024, I had undergone roughly 12 weeks of therapy and had made significant progress.”

During that year, Ananda appeared on CNN and expressed her remorse over her choice to “retain my tumor and attempt to resolve it externally. … I wish I could turn back time. It is crucial for me to acknowledge where I made mistakes in this journey.”

In an interview with Essence, she shared that as of January 2025, she was “taking standard medication” and “continuing the holistic approach, which incorporates traditional Chinese medicine and more. If necessary, I will opt for additional insulin-potentiated chemotherapy.”

By avoiding conventional cancer treatment methods, Ananda seemed to be trying to evade becoming a warning example.

“Am I out of danger? No,” she noted in her essay. “However, I could have reached this point regardless of the path I chose, because I didn’t have the necessary resources to stick with it all along. So, for now, it is what it is. I don’t want my narrative to suggest that my rejection of the conventional treatment initially offered is the reason I ended up at stage 4. That isn't accurate. Occasionally, individuals find themselves in this position whether they choose conventional methods or not.”