Tina Knowles Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Tina Knowles, the mother of Beyoncé and Solange, revealed Tuesday that she had a private battle with breast cancer. During an interview with CBS Mornings, Knowles said the cancer was found after a delayed mammogram appointment.

“I’ve always tried to take care of myself. I just was in disbelief,” she said.

Knowles said she missed a routine mammogram appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not reschedule it until last year, nearly four years later. When she went for the screening, doctors found two tumors in her left breast, one of which was benign, while the other had stage 1 cancer. (The American Cancer Society recommends a mammogram every 1 to 2 years for women over 55.)

Knowles underwent a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous tumor in August and is now cancer-free.

“I was nervous,” she recalled of how she was feeling before surgery. Luckily, she had her daughters by her side for support and comfort. “They started just joking with me,” she said of Beyoncé and Solange. “I start laughing. I get out of my head. … Then I said, ‘I’m just so happy that y’all are here.’ And I thought about the song ‘Walk With Me,’ which they used to sing all the time.”

In an interview with People, Knowles said she is now “doing great” and wants to be a lesson for other women.

“Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early,” she said. “I decided to share it because I think it’s a lot of lessons in it for other women,” she says. “And 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.”