Mathew Knowles Opens Up About Breast Cancer Battle: “The Key To This is Early Detection”

Mathew Knowles, music executive, and father of superstars Beyoncé and Solange Knowles announced his battle with breast cancer.

Knowles sat down with Michael Strahan and “Good Morning America” for an in-depth interview to reveal his Breast Cancer diagnosis and urge the importance of early testing and detection in men.

Knowles explained that one night in July he noticed a speck of blood on his white undershirt, which he initially thought was lint until he saw more blood the next night. He said his wife even told him that she had noticed strange droppings of blood on their linens in as many recent days. 

Knowles still didn’t think much of it until he saw a bloody discharge from his right nipple when he squeezed it. It was then that he decided it was time to go see his doctor, and after a barrage of tests, including a necessary mammogram, it turned out that he was one of the rare men to be diagnosed with breast cancer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Knowles disclosed that further testing uncovered that he has the BRCA gene mutation, known as the so-called “breast cancer gene.”

The discovery explained why he developed cancer in his right breast and revealed that he’s at a higher risk of developing other forms of cancer, including pancreatic cancer and melanoma. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

However, Knowles revealed he’s already had a mastectomy of his right breast and is planning one for the left side this coming January, just to be safe.

He told GMA, “I want to continue the dialogue on awareness and early detection — male or female. The key to this is early detection.”

Knowles also revealed that his children have a 50% chance of inheriting the BRCA gene mutation and that his aunt died of breast cancer, as well as her two daughters.

“Breast cancer has been prevalent in our family. I want men and women to be aware — if you detect the cancer early, you can have a low mortality rate and live a normal life. If you find breast cancer, stage 1 or stage 2, you have a really good shot at a normal life,” he said. 

As October is “Breast Cancer Awareness” month, Knowles said he wanted his story to serve as a reminder to encourage more men to educate themselves and get tested.

“It’s the importance of going and doing it. I get frustrated that people aren’t going to get the procedure. For men and women, it’s taking the time to get a BRCA test — just a simple blood test. You can do it in addition to any other blood tests you’re doing, or you can do it separately. It [can be as low as] $250, and it’s [often] covered by all insurance companies.”

Knowles implored other male breast cancer survivors to share their stories as well.

“I need men to speak out if they’ve had breast cancer. I need them to let people know they have the disease so that we can get correct numbers and better research. The occurrence in men is 1 in 1,000 only because we have no research”.

“Everyone understands female breast cancer and that we’ve come so far with advances in breast cancer. … Women go in, get their mammograms and check themselves — everyone is hyper-vigilant,” Dr. John Kiluk, a surgical oncologist, told GMA, “That’s why we’re having really good outcomes with females. Now on the other side, I’d say that most people don’t even realize that guys can get breast cancer. As patients, guys may push things off and say, ‘Oh no, it’s nothing; it’s just a cyst or something like that.'”

Early detection improves the chances for a successful outcome, and Matthew Knowles wants more black men to know their family history.

“I want the black community to know that we’re the first to die, and that’s because we don’t go to the doctor, we don’t get the detection, and we don’t keep up with the technologies and wha the industry and the community is doing. So that’s why I’m here.”