TV personality Ananda Lewis shares an important update on her cancer journey.

While chatting with friends Stephanie Elam And Sara Sidner In a CNN panel discussion on Tuesday, October 15, Lewis, 51, announced that her breast cancer had reached stage IV. The former MTV VJ announced that she had stage III cancer in 2020, but went against doctors’ recommendations and underwent a double mastectomy.

“My initial plan was to eliminate excess toxins from my body. I felt like my body was intelligent, I know that. “Our bodies are superbly made,” she shared. “I decided to keep my tumor and try to get it out of my body another way. When I think back on it, I think, ‘You know what? Maybe I should have done it.’”

In a voiceover, Elam, 50, explained that Lewis noticed an improvement in her health after turning to “aggressive homeopathic therapies” and changing her diet and sleeping habits, in addition to “traditional medications and radiation.” However, her cancer continued to grow and last year she discovered it was stage IV.

Related: Stars who beat breast cancer: Linda Evangelista, Cynthia Nixon and more

Many celebrities have spoken out about their personal battles with breast cancer over the years. Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her breast cancer diagnosis public via Instagram in September 2017. Almost a year later, she had successfully beaten the disease and returned to work at Veep. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but there’s something about After (…)”

“My lymphatic system really flared up. And so all these lymphs all over my stomach, my collarbone, was very swollen,” Lewis said. “It was the first time I talked about death because I felt like, ‘This is how it ends.’ You know, I thought, ‘Okay, so I’m not afraid of things.'”

She continued, “I was like, ‘Fudge, man, I really thought I had this.’ I was frustrated, I was a little angry with myself and I said, “Man, listen.” I know you’re going to come for me at some point. But I don’t want it to be like this now. And if you could just wait, I promise you that I will make sure you have fun when you come.’ … I literally had this conversation lying in my bed. I couldn’t get out of bed for about eight weeks.”

Lewis further explained the reasons behind her health decisions, emphasizing that “her quality of life is very important” to her. “There are certain things that I know I’m not okay with, and I know myself. I want to want to be here, and so I had to do it a certain way for myself,” she said.

The 52-year-old Sidner is also currently battling breast cancer. Elam praised both her fellow CNN reporter and Lewis when she shared her interview on Instagram on Tuesday, writing, “These two are my sisters, my chosen family. “We are there for each other for better or worse. When they both began their breast cancer journeys, I didn’t know how best to support them and I also realized I had no idea what modern cancer treatment looked like.”

Elam added, “If we can get just one woman to get a mammogram because of this conversation, that’s a success. I want everyone to live a long and healthy life.”

Lewis was an MTV VJ (also known as a video jockey) from the late ’90s to 2001, and before that she was a host at BET Teen Peak. She then hosted her eponymous talk show, which ran for two seasons from 2001 to 2002.

When Lewis announced her breast cancer diagnosis via Instagram in 2020, she said it was a “mistake” to undergo mammograms for several years because she feared radiation could cause her to develop cancer.

“If I had had the mammograms when I was 40 when they were recommended, they would have discovered the tumor in my breast a year earlier, before I discovered it through my own breast exam, self-exam and thermography,” she explained. “And they would have caught it in a place where it was easier to manage, where the treatment would have been a little easier.”

Important NOTE: “If you are thinking about using an alternative method instead of standard treatment, be sure to speak to your doctor first. Finding trustworthy information about the safety and effectiveness of alternative treatments can be challenging. Additionally, some of these treatments can cost a lot of time and money and may require travel away from your family and friends,” the American Cancer Society warns on its website. “Choosing alternative treatment instead of usual cancer treatments could put you at serious risk. Delays or interruptions in standard treatment can give the cancer more time to grow. Even early-stage cancers can be difficult to treat successfully if proven treatments are delayed long enough.”