Rhiannon Ingle
Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, has opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis and revealed that she 'missed early detection.'
The 71-year-old, who is mother to Beyoncé and her younger sister, Solange, shared with fans in an interview with CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King - who recently boarded a controversial 11-minute Blue Origin flight to space - that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. The cancer was in her left breast after doctors discovered two separate tumours, during a delayed mammogram appointment.
Knowles explained that she missed her routine screening - something which the American Cancer Society recommends every one to two years for those over 55 - during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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She didn't reschedule said appointment until last year, which is when doctors discovered the two tumours.
One of which was benign while the other, as we say, had Stage 1 cancer.
"I've always tried to take care of myself. I just … was in disbelief," she told King, 70.
Knowles was later informed that if she had kept up with her recommended screenings then cancer detection could have occurred at Stage 0, which is when the cancer has not spread beyond the breast tissue.
Fortunately for her, the cancer hadn't spread and Knowles was booked in for a lumpectomy to remove to tumour from her left breast in August of last year, which has meant that now she is cancer-free.
"I was nervous," Knowles recalled when discussing her friends and family members visiting her in hospital at the time. "And so they started just joking with me."
She also shared what Beyoncé said to her at the time: "Mama, you're not yourself."
"And so she was like, 'Your health is more important. Don't go,'" Knowles added referring to Glamour's 2024 Women of the Year event back in October, which she nearly missed after developing a serious post-surgical infection.
She, however, went against Beyoncé's advice and attended the event anyway, explaining: "A lot of my life, I just refused to be recognised. I would never take an award. I would never want the attention to me … and this was my saying, 'I deserve this.'"
Noting that her daughters stood by her side as support during the ordeal, Knowles resolved: "That's why when I said, you know, with them, I could get through anything, nobody knew what I was talking about."
Tina Knowles memoir Matriarch released today (22 April).
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.