The passing of Ananda Lewis has been felt throughout the industry, with CNN correspondents — and Ananda’s good friends — Stephanie Elam and Sara Sidner, taking to the air Thursday (June 12) to tribute their late friend.
Back in October of 2024, the three women sat down for a discussion on cancer treatment, as both Sidner and Lewis were battling breast cancer at the time. While Sidner opted to have a double mastectomy, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, Lewis chose a more holistic approach. Lewis died on June 11 at the age of 52.
HOLLYWOOD – DECEMBER 13: TV personality Ananda Lewis attends the ‘Remember to Give’ holiday party at Les Deux on December 13, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
“One thing I want everyone to know is that she was at peace with this decision. She had come to grips with it,” Elam said of Lewis, adding that the former MTV VJ’s health declined rapidly just prior to her passing. “We thought we had weeks and it turned out that it turned into days and it turned out it was just a matter of hours,” Elam said of visiting Lewis the day before she died. “It happened very quickly how things changed.”
Elam then emotionally shares Lewis’ final text message, where she appeared to accept her fate.
“She texted me and said things had taken a different turn than she would have liked,” Elam said. “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.’ And then she goes on to say, ‘I love you my wonderful lifelong bestie of besties.’ ”
“I love my girl, but she was hard-headed,” Elam said of Lewis’ approach to her cancer treatment. “She wanted to do it her own way despite the fact that so many of us close to her wanted her to try the way that [Sidner] did it. But this is what she wanted to do and she was totally at peace with it.”
See the emotional tribute below.
The two friends also took to Instagram to honor their late friend, captioning the above clip with the following:
“Good bye you beautiful soul
Thank you for sharing your joy with us
Thank you for sharing your whole true self with us
Thank you for informing us and entertaining us
Thank you for sharing what happened to you so that we can all make the right decisions for ourselves
Thank you for always being the light
RIP beautiful friend Ananda Lewis.
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