CNN's Stephanie Elam Emotionally Recalls Final Text From Ananda Lewis

On Thursday's CNN News Central, co-anchor Sara Sidner and CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam shared an emotional on-air tribute to Lewis, who died on Wednesday at 52 following a years-long battle with breast cancer, with Elam recalling her final conversation with her longtime friend.

Before Elam joined the broadcast, Sidner became choked up as she revealed the news of the passing of her "beautiful friend." The journalist -- who revealed her Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in January 2024 -- recalled getting together for a televised conversation about breast cancer with Lewis and Elam in October 2024.

Sidner noted that while she had a double mastectomy, underwent rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, Lewis decided against traditional treatment, such as removing her tumor and chemotherapy, and instead chose to undergo homeopathic treatment and remedies. After battling Stage 3 breast cancer for years, in 2023, the disease progressed into Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer.

After Elam joined Sidner on-air on Thursday morning, she opened up about visiting Lewis before she passed away.

Elam -- who noted that she's been covering the Los Angeles ICE protests -- received a "call" that Lewis was in her final moments, breaking down as she emotionally recalled her final conversation with her close friend.

"So, I drove to be with her and held her hand, and told her how much I love her," a choked-up Elam said, "Two-thirds of my life, she has been my ride or die. We have been there, going through things, we would text, and we would message each other all the time."

She went on, saying that "one thing I want everyone to know is that she was at peace with this decision. She had come to grips with it."

"We thought we had weeks, and it turned out that it turned into days, and then it actually was just a matter of hours," Elam said. "It happened very quickly how things changed."

While the correspondent was able to see her longtime friend before her passing, she also received a final text from Lewis, in which the Total Request Live host reflected on her cancer journey, and said goodbye to her "lifelong bestie of besties."

Elam read part of the message, continuing to hold back tears.

"She texted me and said things had taken a different turn than she would have liked," Elam said. "This is part of the text that 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 in another part of it, 'I love you, my wonderful lifelong bestie of besties.'"

Elam then addressed Lewis' decision to forgo traditional cancer treatment.

"I love my girl, but she was hard-headed. 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 you did it, right," she told Sidner, who listened solemnly. "But this is what she wanted to do, and she was totally at peace with it."

On Wednesday, Lewis' sister, Lakshmi Emory, announced the news of her passing in a Facebook post. Emory told TMZ Hip Hop that Lewis died on Wednesday morning in her Los Angeles home.

Following the announcement of her passing, Elam posted a tribute on her Instagram, sharing a video complication of photos of herself and Lewis over the years.

"💔Ananda Lewis 💔 🕊️ 1973 - 2025 🕊️ She was good energy and joy. She was fiercely loyal and deeply loving. She was an awesome mother, a dedicated auntie to my daughter, a giving human and she was my best friend for two-thirds of our lives," she began in her caption. "We met at the very beginning of freshman year at our beloved @howard1867 Howard University. She was 18 and I was 17. Our bond was quick and easy. Two young women from California beginning four years together in Washington DC. We were so tight, we celebrated our graduation together at an Indian restaurant with both of our families."

Elam went on to share that she and Lewis -- who is survived by her 14-year-old son -- "were there for each other in the big moments and the quiet everyday ones - the no makeup mommying days and our annual 'framily' traditions with our kids - which we never missed."

Elam concluded her tribute by noting that she's "so glad she's no longer in pain, but I'm not quite sure how to life this life without her."

Sidner, meanwhile, also posted on her Instagram following Lewis' passing, sharing a clip from her on-air tribute.

"Good bye you beautiful soul. Thank you for sharing your joy with us. Thank you for sharing your whole true self with us," she wrote in her post's caption. "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."

"Thank you my dear and heartbroken friend @stephelamtv for bringing us together and @drelizabethcomen for giving such good advice," she concluded.

Lewis revealed her Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in October 2020, sharing an Instagram video at the time, in which she urged other women not to skip their annual mammograms, admitting that she did for years.

"I have been fighting to get cancer out of my body for almost two years," she said in her video. "For a really long time, I have refused mammograms, and that was a mistake."

During an interview with ABC News in October 2024, Lewis shared that her breast cancer had progressed to Stage 4.