Tina Knowles says her breast cancer diagnosis forced her to change the way she lives. The 72-year-old said she learned to stop being so codependent and to slow down after doctors found stage 1 breast cancer in July 2024.
Speaking at the L.A. Times Festival of Books in 2025, Knowles told the audience to get their mammograms and said she had missed two screenings before her diagnosis. She described the early discovery as a miracle and said the experience taught her to take time to enjoy her life and not be so stressed all the time.
Knowles had her tumour removed in late 2024 and underwent a breast reduction before being given the all-clear in April 2025. Her account now turns a private health scare into a public warning: the difference between a manageable diagnosis and something far worse can be a routine screening she skipped twice.
She said the illness was frightening from the start. “When you hear the word cancer, it is the most frightening thing that you can ever go through, and you need people around you that are gonna support you and get you through it,” she said. Knowles also said, “It was really hard, really challenging,” and added that what seemed simple became “something pretty traumatic.”
That support came from the people closest to her. Last year, she told that her daughters were deeply supportive during the battle, saying, “My kids were....I can’t even explain how supportive they were.” She added, “This was a seven-day-a-week thing, and I felt, with them by my side, I could get through anything – and I did.”
Knowles, who is the mother of Beyonce and Solange, said she had plenty of people helping her through the ordeal. Her message was plain: cancers found early can be treated, but only if people keep up with screenings and build an inner circle before they need one.
