Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Dead After Breast Cancer Battle

CNN.com reports Ananda Lewis, a former MTV VJ who connected a generation of music fans to their favorite celebrities on the music network, has died. She was 52. The news was confirmed by her sister Lakshmi Emory, who posted a tribute on Facebook. No further details were available.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Lewis for further comment. Lewis had been living with breast cancer in recent years, recently speaking with CNN about her treatment. She first shared in 2020 that she was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer after she conducted a self exam.

In her announcement at the time, she encouraged her followers to be up to date on their mammograms after revealing that she had been delayed in getting hers leading up to her diagnosis.

“I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms and I need you to tell them that they have to do it,” Lewis said in her announcement. “Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.” Lewis revealed in October of last year that her cancer had progressed to stage IV.