Ananda Lewis, a former MTV VJ who connected a generation of music fans to their favorite celebrities in the network’s heyday, has died. She was 52.

CNN anchor Sara Sidner and CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam tearfully mourned the death of their close friend, former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis.

Eight months after opening up about her breast cancer diagnosis, former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis has died at the age of 52. The news of her death comes after Lewis sat down at a CNN roundtable to talk about her initial cancer diagnosis and the decisions she made following receiving that news.