Tina Knowles Opens Up About Secret Breast Cancer Battle in New Memoir

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Tina Knowles is sharing a deeply personal chapter of her life in her newly released memoir Matriarch, revealing for the first time that she privately battled breast cancer.

The 71-year-old entrepreneur and mother to Beyoncé and Solange Knowles disclosed her diagnosis during a CBS Mornings interview and in the pages of her book. Knowles shared that she had missed a routine mammogram during the pandemic — an oversight that led to a delayed cancer diagnosis. When she finally went in for screening last year, doctors discovered a small cancerous tumour in her left breast. A larger tumour in her right breast turned out to be benign but still required removal.

Knowles was diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy in August 2024. Though initially successful, she developed a serious infection shortly after and needed a second surgery in September.

Throughout the process, Knowles says her daughters were by her side — with Beyoncé even stepping in to join a medical consultation over speakerphone. “The doctor was impressed with her questions; I was impressed by her care,” Knowles wrote.

Now cancer-free and recovering well, Knowles says she’s “incredibly blessed” to have caught the cancer early. Through her story, she hopes to encourage others to stay on top of their health and find strength in difficult moments. “What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life,” she told People.