Tina Knowles He fought privately against breast cancer last year.
“My doctor told me that I had breast cancer. A small tumor in my left breast that was cancerous; the biggest tumor in my right bosom was benign, but it would also have to go,” Knowles wrote, 71, in his autobiography Matriarchlaunched on Tuesday, April 22. “He said I was in stage 1, making sure that my prognosis was good. The next step was to talk to an oncologist and a breast surgeon,” he added.
And he added: “I sat down there, rubbing my neck. I immediately thought about my father, all those times leading him to chemotherapy and how much cancer stole. He had gone through all these things in life reaching 70 years, and now I will have cancer?”
Tina, the mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowleshe received the diagnosis in July 2024 after a mammogram that he had postponed for four years. He underwent surgery the following month. (Tina opted for a private practice specialist, who eliminated cancerous tissue along with a breast reduction).
Beyoncé, 43, took the news well and began to formulate an action plan, Tina recalled.
“He could already feel his accelerated mind, focusing on this as a task to address precisely. I would find the best specialist for me,” Tina wrote, noting that “my daughters became my team.”
After surgery, Tina said he was “cancer -free” but there were still complications, which led to a second surgery in September 2024 to eliminate a bruise. His struggle for health continued with an infection that developed shortly after, and Beyoncé put Tina’s health as a priority.
“He insisted that he put it on the speaker during my consultation in the exam room with the specialist in infectious diseases,” Tina wrote about his eldest daughter. “The doctor was impressed with his questions; I was impressed by his care.”
He ended up receiving attention “24 hours a day.”
Now, Tina is “very good,” he shared during an interview with People Tuesday.
“Free of cancer and incredibly blessed because God allowed me to find him early,” he told him to the environment, explaining his decision to share his health struggles in the book.
“I struggled with the decision to share that experience because I am very reserved. But I decided to share it because I think there are many lessons for other women,” he explained. “And I think that as women, sometimes we are so busy and so absorbed running around, but you must do your (mammography). Because if I had not done the test in time, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me.”
Matriarch is now available.
