Fans are pouring out their love and support for Tina Knowles who just announced her experience with a devastating health battle. The mother of Beyoncé and Solange spoke with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings” in an interview that aired Tuesday (April 22).
Knowles shared that she delayed a mammogram appointment after missing it during the COVID-19 pandemic. She didn’t reschedule her routine screening until years later in 2024.
She admitted how she has “always tried to take care of myself. I just…was in disbelief,” after doctors discovered two tumors in her left breast in August. She underwent a lumpectomy, also referred to as a partial mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery, to remove a breast tumor while preserving the breast itself.
Not long after, the 71-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast. One of the removed tumors were benign, but the other had Stage 1 cancer.
“I was nervous,” she recalled before her surgery. She also added how her daughters, Beyoncé, 43, Solange, 38, and a few friends visited her in the hospital for support during her secret health battle. “I just went in there feeling just like God has got me,” she added.
Despite the delay, the cancer was considered slow-growing. Knowles was told that if she had maintained her regular screenings, instead of Stage 1, detection might have occurred at Stage 0. According to the American Cancer Society, Stage 0 is when the cancer has not spread beyond the breast tissue.
After the surgery, the Texas native had developed an infection that almost forced her to miss Glamour’s 2024 Women of the Year ceremony that October, where she was being honored. Knowles remembered Beyoncé was noticing something was off about her, and encouraged her not to attend the event.
“She was like, ‘Your health is more important. Don’t go,’” the fashion designer remembered. But she was adamant on accepting the award in person after admitting she “refused to be recognized” for “a lot of my life.” She added: “I would never take an award. I would never want the attention to me. This was my saying, ‘I deserve this.’ ”
As of today, Knowles is now cancer-free.
Fans took to X to share their support for the beloved matriarch.
Knowles’ ex-husband of 30 years, Mathew Knowles, was also diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. He underwent a mastectomy and is now cancer free. He’s an avid advocate for early detection and genetic testing for men.
“Data show that one out of six new breast cancers develop in people who are in the age range of 40 to 50,” Pouneh Razavi, M.D., medical doctor and featured expert at John Hopkins Medicine, says. “Cancers detected during screenings are usually early-stage, and the earlier we catch a cancer, the better the prognosis and survival rate for the patient.”
Patients are encouraged to start screenings at age 40.