Tina Knowles, mother to Beyoncé and Solange, is opening up about her recent battle with breast cancer.
In a recent interview with People for their World’s Most Beautiful issue, the author of the emotional new memoir Matriarch revealed that she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer last July.
“My doctor told me I had breast cancer. A small tumor in my left breast that was cancerous; the larger tumor in my right breast was benign, but it would also have to go,” Knowles, 71, said.
“She said I was Stage 1A, assuring me my prognosis was good. The next step was to talk to an oncologist and a breast surgeon.”
The fashion designer revealed that she received the news after missing a scheduled mammogram two years earlier, which could’ve helped her catch the tumor sooner.
“I forgot that I didn’t go to get my test two years before I thought I had, because COVID came, and they called me and canceled me, and they said, ‘We’ll call you when we start testing again,’” she told People. “And I just thought I had done it. So you cannot play around with that.”
“It’s important not to slack on your mammograms,” she added. “I think as women, sometimes we get so busy, and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test. Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me.”
In her book Matriarch, released on Tuesday (April 2024), Knowles revealed how her loved ones reacted to the news.
Beyoncé, she writes, “took it well, staying positive, and I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision.”
Solange, for her part, said, “Mom, we are going to take care of this.”
Alongside Beyoncé, 43, and Solange, 38, Kelly Rowland and Knowles’ niece Angie Beyincé were also there to support her during her cancer battle.
The Cecred co-founder said she was hesitant to share her journey, but ultimately realized she could help other women by telling her story.
“I struggled with whether I would share that journey [in the book] because I’m very private. But I decided to share it because I think it’s a lot of lessons in it for other women,” she told the publication.
Following her surgery and breast reduction, the author shared that she was doing great.
“Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early. I’m healthier, eating better, I lost weight,” she said, noting that she wants her journey to give people hope.
“What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life,” she added.
Elsewhere, the grandmother of four revealed that she’s currently dating, sharing coyly, “Uh, I… I am spending time with a friend.”
“A very nice gentleman,” added Knowles, who was previously married to Bey and Solange’s father, Mathew Knowles, and Richard Lawson, from whom she split in 2023
“We’ll see what happens.”
