Tina Knowles has broken her silence on her ex-husband Mathew Knowles’ breast cancer diagnosis and says she is positive that he’s going to be “fine”.
Beyoncé’s father revealed he is battling the disease on the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness month, which runs throughout October, as part of his interview with Michael Strahan on ‘Good Morning America’ last week.
The former Destiny’s Child manager is currently cancer free after having “three lymph nodes” removed and, his former spouse – with whom he also has 33-year-old daughter Solange Knowles – is thankful the cancer was caught early.
Speaking to “Entertainment Tonight”, Tina said: “Well, you know, thank God he got it very early on. He is going to be fine.”
Both Beyonce and Solange were tested after their dad found out he was a carrier of the BRCA2 gene and they were later told by doctors they haven’t inherited it.
The pair tested negative for the mutated human tumour suppressor gene, which can put females at a higher risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer.
Matthew had shared: “I’m grateful to be cancer free. They found this early and they took out three lymph nodes. I’m good. I’m very fortunate. Early detection, that’s the key.”
The 67-year-old record executive – who thinks breast cancer should be called chest cancer to encourage men to check themselves – is planning to have his “other breast” removed next year as a precaution.
He added: “I’m looking about January time to have the other breast removed just being proactive and reducing the risk.”
Mathew – who also has two young children with his spouse Gena Avery – found out that there is a history of breast cancer in his family.
He said: “Breast cancer has been prevalent in my family.
“My mother’s sister died of breast cancer, my mother’s sister’s two and only daughters died of breast cancer and my sister-in-law died in March of breast cancer with three kids – a nine, 11- and a 15-year-old – and my mother-in-law had breast cancer.
“So breast cancer has been all around me. My wife’s mother has breast cancer, too.”
He is currently having more tests to check his overall health as the mutated BRCA2 gene can put men at higher risk of developing prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and melanoma.
He explained: “Now what does having a mutation on BRCA2 mean for a man?
“You have a higher risk of getting breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer or melanoma … I’m still getting test results back.
“I got an MRI for pancreatic cancer and my pancreas and liver are fine. My dermatologist removed two moles – both of which came back benign for melanoma. I got an MRI on my prostate a week ago, but we’re still waiting on the results.”
