Tina Knowles, finest often called the fashionable, unshakeable matriarch behind music royalty Beyoncé and Solange, is moving into the highlight for a distinct purpose — to share a deeply private well being journey that she hopes will empower different girls to prioritize their well-being.
At 71, Knowles is opening up for the primary time about her latest analysis and restoration from stage 1 breast most cancers, found in July 2024. In an unique with PEOPLE, she shared how the expertise modified her perspective and formed the pages of her new memoir Matriarch.
“It’s necessary to not slack in your mammograms,” Knowles says, emphasizing the urgency of routine screenings. On the time of her analysis, she was juggling the launch of the Cécred hair care line with Beyoncé and placing the ending touches on her memoir — all whereas unaware of the life-altering information that was on its method.
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Moments like these, she admits, pressured her to re-evaluate what she wished to share publicly. “I struggled with whether or not I might share that journey [in the book] as a result of I’m very non-public. However I made a decision to share it as a result of I believe it’s lots of classes in it for different girls,” she explains. “And I believe as girls, typically we get so busy and we get so wrapped up and working round, however you have to go get your take a look at. As a result of if I had not gotten my take a look at early, I imply, I shudder to assume what might have occurred to me.”
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Knowles acknowledges that she missed an important mammogram appointment resulting from pandemic disruptions. “I forgot that I didn’t go to get my take a look at two years earlier than I assumed I had,” she remembers. “As a result of Covid got here and so they referred to as me and canceled me and so they stated, we’ll name you once we begin testing once more. And I simply thought I had completed it. So you can not mess around with that.”
In Matriarch, she describes the emotional response of her daughters upon listening to the information. Beyoncé “took it effectively, staying constructive, and I might already really feel her thoughts racing, specializing in this as a process to deal with with precision.” Solange responded with reassurance, saying, “Mother, we’re going to deal with this.” With Kelly Rowland and her niece Angie Beyince rallying round her, Knowles writes, “My ladies grew to become my group.”
Though there isn’t any household historical past of breast most cancers on her aspect and he or she doesn’t carry the genes sometimes linked to the illness, the analysis was nonetheless a stark reminder of how important early detection is. (Her ex-husband, Mathew Knowles, additionally survived stage 1 breast most cancers and carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.)
After present process surgical procedure late final 12 months to take away the tumor and choosing a breast discount, Knowles says, “I’m doing nice. Most cancers-free and extremely blessed that God allowed me to search out it early.”
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Along with her message about common checkups: “I didn’t know that there was a stage 0. I might have caught this at stage 0 if I had not missed my mammogram.” Knowles additionally desires girls to know that energy and magnificence can go hand in hand. “I wish to present individuals you’ll be able to undergo that and nonetheless be fly.”
As of late, she’s specializing in wellness and self-care. “I’m more healthy, consuming higher, I misplaced weight,” she says. However greater than something, she desires her story to supply hope.
“I wish to give individuals hope,” she says. “What scares me now is just not making the very best of day-after-day that I’ve left on this life.”
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