Tina Knowles, with a passionate call to action, urges women to prioritize their mammogram appointments. In an insightful interview with People Magazine, Knowles revealed a personal battle she valiantly fought; she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in her left breast last July, shortly after the launch of her and her daughter Beyoncé's hair-care line, Cécred. This revelation came during a time when Knowles was also busy finalizing the manuscript of her poignant new memoir, titled “Matriarch.”
"I faced a dilemma," Knowles confided to the magazine, "whether to share this journey in my book, given my preference for privacy. However, I chose transparency, recognizing the invaluable lessons it holds for other women. Often, as women, we are swept up in the whirlwind of life's demands, but it's crucial to make time for these screenings. If I hadn't undergone my test early, I dread to imagine the consequences I might have faced."
Knowles admitted to a harrowing oversight; she had actually missed a mammogram appointment due to the pandemic. "I falsely assumed I had already attended," she recounted. "The Covid pandemic disrupted routines, and an appointment was cancelled. They promised to call me back when testing resumed, but in my mind, I had already attended. It's a matter of life and death; one cannot afford to be nonchalant about it."
In her memoir, Knowles poignantly narrates how her daughters, Beyoncé and Solange, received the news. Beyoncé, according to her mother, "took it with resilience and positivity, her mind already buzzing with precision and determination to tackle this challenge." Solange, on the other hand, reassured her with the comforting words, "we are going to take care of this." Knowles also expressed gratitude for the support of her niece Angie and Beyoncé's lifelong friend and fellow Destiny's Child member, Kelly Rowland. "My girls became my rock-solid team," she wrote fondly.
Knowles believes that, had she not missed her mammogram, the cancer might have been detected even earlier, potentially at stage 0. Today, she is cancer-free and feels profoundly blessed that the disease was caught in its early stages. This experience has prompted her to adopt a healthier lifestyle, resulting in significant weight loss. Her heartfelt memoir is now available for readers to explore.
