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    Ananda Lewis, Former MTV V.J., Says She Has Stage 4 Breast Cancer

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    Lewis, the host of the 1990s MTV show “Hot Zone,” tried to fight her illness without undergoing a double mastectomy. She says she is responding well after resuming treatment.The former MTV V.J. Ananda Lewis said in a CNN round-table discussion that was posted online on Tuesday that her breast cancer, which she first learned she had in 2019, metastasized last year and had reached Stage 4.In a phone interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Lewis, 51, said that she had since resumed treatment and was feeling much better. “I’ve turned it around really beautifully,” she said.Lewis first became recognizable in the 1990s as a host of “Teen Summit,” a long-running weekly live show on BET that aimed to speak to Black teenagers about current issues (Lewis interviewed Hillary Clinton, who was then the first lady, on the program in 1996). She went on to host “Hot Zone,” an MTV show in which she interviewed stars and gave style advice. The Times, in a 1999 profile, described her as one of MTV’s most popular stars and “the hip-hop generation’s reigning It Girl.”Stage 4 breast cancer means that the cancer cells have spread beyond the breast, often traveling to the bones, the lungs and the liver. It can be treated with tools like chemotherapy and hormone therapy, but it is considered incurable. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States and a leading cause of death from cancer among women globally.In the round-table — with the CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam, Lewis’s best friend since they met at Howard University in the 1990s, and the CNN anchor Sara Sidner, who had a double mastectomy this year after learning that she had Stage 3 breast cancer — Lewis said that she had decided not to get a double mastectomy despite her doctors’ recommendation in early 2019, when she first discovered the lump and learned she had Stage 3 breast cancer.She sought conventional care after receiving the initial diagnosis, speaking to “the right and best oncologists, the breast surgeons,” she said on Wednesday. As she told Elam, “I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jenna Fischer, ‘The Office’ Star, Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis

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      “I am now cancer free,’’ the actress announced on Instagram, noting that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer in December and that early detection had played a key role in her successful treatment.Jenna Fischer, the actress best known for her role as Pam Beesly in the popular television series “The Office,” said on Tuesday that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December but that she was now cancer free after successful treatment.“I am now cancer free,’’ Ms. Fischer, 50, of Los Angeles, said in her announcement, imploring her nearly four million Instagram followers to consult with their doctors and schedule annual mammogram appointments.“If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse,” Ms. Fischer said. “It could have spread.”She said that she had surgery in January to remove the tumor that doctors had found. That was followed by “12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy” and “three weeks of radiation,” her post said.“I’m happy to say I’m feeling great,” said Ms. Fischer, who is also an author and the co-host of a popular podcast about “The Office” with Angela Kinsey, a former co-star from the show. Ms. Fischer said she was continuing a treatment plan that includes infusions of targeted therapy.A representative for Ms. Fischer declined a request for an additional comment from the actress on Tuesday.In addition to her role in “The Office,” a television show that ran on NBC for eight years and is among the most popular shows in television history, Ms. Fischer has also acted in popular comedic films, including “Blades of Glory” and the movie musical version of “Mean Girls,” playing the main character’s mother.Sprinkled within her post were jokes and references to her character on “The Office.”“‘Take care of your ticking time bags,’” Ms. Fischer wrote, referencing a quote from Michael Scott, the boss of the paper company Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pa., where “The Office” takes place.News of Ms. Fischer’s cancer diagnosis shocked fans, who wrote thousands of supportive messages in the comment section of her Instagram post. Ms. Fischer said she wore wigs to hide her hair loss so that she could keep her diagnosis private until she was ready to share the news.Dr. Cesar Santa-Maria, a medical oncologist and associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins, reviewed Ms. Fischer’s post and said she had been diagnosed with an “aggressive subtype of breast cancer.”“But because of the treatments we have now,” Dr. Santa-Maria continued, “it’s the most curable. Twenty years ago? Not the case.”Catching the tumor early on, when it was in Stage 1, was critical for her to have a successful treatment, Dr. Santa-Maria said. Women at average risk for breast cancer should talk to their doctors about getting their annual mammograms beginning at age 40, he added.“Again, don’t skip your mammogram,” Ms. Fischer wrote, reminding her followers that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She said that Michael Scott “was right. Get ’em checked ladies.” More