Beyoncé's mom has bravely opened up about being diagnosed with breast cancer after she missed a routine mammogram.
Tina Knowles, 71, revealed she was diagnosed last year and has chosen to go public in order to raise awareness and encourage other women not to miss their breast screenings.
Tina revealed in a new interview with People that she was blindsided when she was diagnosed with cancer in her left breast last July.
She revealed that she'd actually missed her scheduled mammogram before doctors found a stage 1 tumor in her breast.
Tina told the outlet: "It’s important not to slack on your mammograms."
The 71-year-old is set to discuss her cancer journey in her new memoir, Matriarch, and admitted that she "struggled" with whether to include the topic in her book because of her private nature.
Ultimately, she decided to go ahead in the hopes that it would help others, as she added: "But I decided to share it because I think it’s a lot of lessons in it for other women.
"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."
Tina, who is also mother to Beyoncé's sister Solange Knowles, had missed her screening during the Covid-19 pandemic and did not rebook it until last year.
At that appointment, doctors found two tumors in her breast, with CBS reporting that one was benign while the other was stage 1 cancer.
Tina revealed that she was later told that if she had kept up with her routine mammograms, the tumor would have likely been found when it was Stage 0, the earliest detectable form.
According to Cancer Research UK, Stage 0 is a pre invasive breast cancer, meaning that the cancer cells are only found in the breast ducts and have not spread into the surrounding breast tissue.
Stage 1 is "early stage breast cancer" and "means that the cancer is small and only in the breast tissue or it might be found in lymph nodes close to the breast".
In her book, as cited by People, Tina revealed that after she shared the news with her daughters, Beyoncé "took it well, staying positive, and I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision."
Solange told her: "Mom, we are going to take care of this," and she revealed that former Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland and her other family members rallied around her and "became my team".
Tina underwent surgery to remove the tumor last August and also had a breast reduction, with her loved ones supporting her through the ordeal.
She told Gayle King on CBS News: "I was nervous, and so they started just joking with me.
"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."
Her family sang this poignant song to Tina before her lumpectomy, and she revealed that she has since being doing well.
She told People: "I’m doing great. Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early.
"I want to give people hope … What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life."
Women are urged to check their breasts often to help detect any changes early, with the symptom that most women first notice being a lump or an area of thickened tissue in their breast.
Other symptoms can include a change in size or shape of one or both breasts, discharge or fluid coming from either nipple, a lump or swelling in either armpit, a change in the look or feel of the skin, including puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness, or a change in the appearance of the nipple.
In the case of any changes, it is recommended to get a check-up with a doctor to determine the cause and start treatment early in the event of cancer being found.