Tina Knowles has shared she was told the words no one wants to hear — “you have cancer.”
Knowles, 71, opened up about being diagnosed with breast cancer to People magazine in an interview published Tuesday, April 22.
“I want to give people hope,” Knowles told the outlet about being diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer last summer after a missed mammogram.
Related: Mathew Knowles Reveals He’s Battling Breast Cancer
The author, philanthropist, and mother of Beyoncé Knowles Carter, 43, and Solange Knowles, 38, said her doctors gave her the news in July 2024, while she was finishing up her new memoir Matriarch [out now].
“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 explained.
Knowles admitted she got busy and put off scheduling a mammogram.
“I forgot that I didn’t go to get my test two years before I thought I had,” she said, adding, “because COVID came and they called me and canceled me and they said, we’ll call you when we start testing again. And I just thought I had done it. So you cannot play around with that.”
Late last year she underwent surgery to remove the tumor.
“I’m doing great,” she said. “Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early.”
Knowles said the women in her family have no history of breast cancer. Although her ex-husband, Mathew Knowles, announced he had the disease in 2019, as previously reported.
She encouraged other women to get tested.
“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,” she said.
Moving forward, Knowles is focused on taking care of herself.
“I’m healthier, eating better, I lost weight,” she said.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
