A Tragic Cautionary Tale: Former MTV Host Ananda Lewis, 51, Questions Her Decision To Choose Alternative Treatments As Her Breast Cancer Spreads

“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,’” as Lewis weighed her initial decision to bypass getting a mastectomy.

Lewis’ cancer journey has sparked conversations among some oncologists who promote traditional lines of care for breast cancer, which often include a form of surgery followed by possible chemotherapy or radiation or a combination of treatment methods.

Among those speaking out is Dr. Liz O’Riordan, a retired breast surgeon who ended up getting breast cancer three times.

This is what can happen when people choose alternative cancer tretament instead of mainstream conventional therapy.

Ananda Lewis was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She decided not to have surgery and instead chose to eliminate toxins, change her diet etc.

Sadly her… pic.twitter.com/a5J2c41nw3

— Dr Liz O’Riordan (@Liz_ORiordan) October 16, 2024

“Ananda Lewis was diagnosed with breast cancer…she decided not to have surgery and instead chose to eliminate toxins, change her diet, etc. Sadly, her cancer has spread. She has stage 4 disease,” O’Riordan said in a social media post.

“I’m not criticizing her decision. She did what was right for her at the time. But, if she was misled by functional, naturopathic, and homeopathic doctors who promised her a cure, that makes my blood boil,” O’Riordan added.

Understanding Non-Traditional Treatment for Cancer

Traditional treatment methods for cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation regimens. Understandably, these treatments are not easy to deal with as they often bring grueling side effects from hair loss to diarrhea. Some patients opt for non-traditional treatments to avoid these side effects, while others bypass traditional therapy for other reasons. Examples of non-traditional treatments may include relying on herbal supplements, homeopathic drugs, or a changed diet and lifestyle.

A study published in the medical journal JAMA Oncology focused on complementary medicine, refusal of conventional cancer therapy, and patient survival. The researchers surmised that patients are more likely to die when they rely on non-traditional cancer treatments.

WATCH: Complementary Treatment

“We know that many, many patients out there are using complementary and alternative medicine, but they’re not talking with their providers about it,” says Dr. James Yu, a radiation oncologist at Yale Cancer Center who led the study.

Yu and his colleagues examined information collected from 1.9 billion people in the National Cancer Database. They found that people who chose complementary medicine for cancer treatment were more likely to be female, younger, affluent, well-educated, and privately insured.

People who chose complementary medicine were also more likely to refuse some conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy, Yu says. Unfortunately, these people had a two-fold greater risk of death compared with patients who did not use complementary medicine.

Yu stresses that using complementary therapies to improve patient’s quality of life should be okay as long as they do not interfere with conventional medicines and help them feel better.

Ananda’s Ongoing Breast Cancer Journey

Ananda Lewis discovered she had stage breast cancer in January 2019 after performing a self-exam and found a lump. A biopsy later confirmed her diagnosis and revealed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

Women are encouraged to do regular self-exams to become familiar with how their breasts feel normally, so when something unusual like a lump does form, it can be easily detected. A self-exam includes pressing your fingertips along your breast in a circular motion.

WATCH: Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams.

Interestingly, Lewis says her mom religiously received an annual mammogram. However, the former TV star had never had a mammogram before she was diagnosed with cancer.

The medical community has a consensus that women between 45 and 54 have annual mammograms. However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is saying that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives. For women aged 55 and older, the American Cancer Society recommends getting a mammogram every other year. However, women in this age group who want added reassurance can still get annual mammograms.

Lewis admits she struggled to tell her family about her diagnosis when she learned she had cancer.

“There was a lot of shame and embarrassment around that,” Lewis previously told BET.com.

“I have a sister who’s a physician and cousins who are doctors; I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re gonna think I’m so dumb.’ But I had to power through the shame,” Lewis continued.

Lewis ultimately decided to share her diagnosis a year later on her Instagram channel because she wanted to help other women who were afraid to share a diagnosis with loved ones.

“It was a huge relief. But it wasn’t easy to post that. I wasn’t sure what the feedback was going to be. I wanted to help other women by sharing the mistake I made,” Lewis said.

Since Lewis’ diagnosis, she’s become a staunch advocate for women to get annual mammograms and early detection.

What Awaits Ananda Amid Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Metastatic breast cancer occurs when cancer cells spread from the breast to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs, or brain.

While stage 4 breast cancer is not curable, several treatment options exist to help improve the quality of life for women battling the disease.

WATCH: Understanding Stage 4 Breast Cancer.

Although stage 4 metastatic breast cancer is incurable, it can be managed. Today, patients have many different options, including standard therapies, whether it be chemotherapy or hormonal treatments, or a new targeted medicine based on genetic sequencing of the cancer that may have been performed — meaning, trying to understand the mutations that are found in the cancer and are there any specific drugs that could be targeted for that mutation.

SurvivorNet experts stress that late-stage breast cancer is not one disease but many different diseases. Your metastatic breast cancer treatment will depend on several factors, like your overall health, genetics, the biology of the tumor, and more.

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