In her new memoir, Matriarch, Tina Knowles, mother to Beyoncé and Solange, opens up about her breast cancer diagnosis last year and the unwavering support she received from her family.
Speaking with CBS Mornings, Knowles shared that she was initially in disbelief when doctors discovered the cancer after a delay in her routine mammogram due to the pandemic. The diagnosis revealed one benign and one malignant tumor, both considered slow-growing. In August, Knowles underwent a lumpectomy and is now cancer-free.
The memoir also details the emotional moment she told her daughters the news. Knowles recalls how Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland, and niece Angie Beyincé all helped comfort her before the surgery. “I was nervous, and they just started joking with me,” she explained. Solange, in particular, lightened the mood by showing her a viral TikTok video of a young trans woman saying, “I’m very demure and intentional,” which had the family laughing and easing Knowles’ nerves.
She expressed how deeply it meant to her that her family was there during such a difficult time. “I thought about the song ‘Walk With Me,’ which they used to sing all the time,” Knowles recalled, with Solange and Beyincé singing it to her before the surgery. The song, she explained, symbolizes divine protection, helping her feel “God has got me.”
After the surgery, Knowles developed a post-operative infection that nearly kept her from attending the Glamour 2024 Women of the Year event, where she was being honored. Beyoncé, noticing her condition, urged her not to go, saying, “Mama, you’re not yourself. Your health is more important.”
Despite the challenges, Knowles insisted on attending, reflecting on her personal growth: “A lot of my life, I just refused to be recognized… and this was my saying, ‘I deserve this.’”
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