Mathew Knowles learned he has a BRCA2 gene mutation, so he’s at a higher risk of getting certain cancers. Armed with that knowledge, he has made significant life changes and prioritized his health.
Most know Mathew Knowles as a music executive and the father of music icon Beyoncé and singer Solange. But some don’t know he’s also a breast cancer survivor.
At 67, he woke up to dots of blood on the bed sheets. After a career selling medical equipment, he knew this could be a sign of something more serious.
“I wanted to find out immediately what was going on,” Knowles said. “I wanted to have a mammogram and get to the core of what the problem was.”
He went to his doctor for a mammogram and learned he had Stage 1A breast cancer.
“I was encouraged that it was Stage 1,” Knowles said. “I wanted to take care of it and move on with my life.”
He had a mastectomy to remove one of his breasts, allowing him to be cancer-free for the last five years. But during the mastectomy, his doctors also ran a genetic test. The results showed Knowles had a BRCA2 gene mutation, which changed his life.
An altered outlook
Knowles’ family has a long history of cancer. Breast cancer was prevalent on his mother’s side of the family, and prostate cancer was evident on his father’s.
But Knowles never thought about how that history could affect his own health. After the genetic test, he learned a BRCA mutation means he’s predisposed to certain cancers, including breast, prostate, and melanoma. It also means he could have been eligible for certain targeted treatments for his type of cancer.
Knowles said he wishes he had known that information before his mastectomy because he and his doctor could have made a more informed decision about his treatment path. He said he might’ve had the other breast removed, too.
Instead, he is focusing on the future by prioritizing his health. He changed his diet, lost weight, and started exercising more. Knowles is now proactively going to the doctor for regular check-ups and screenings.
“Every year, I get a mammogram,” Knowles said. “And every year, I get a prostate exam. Annually, I get a pancreatic MRI. You add all of that together [and it’s] one day out of a year.”
The genetic test also altered the way he moves about the world.
“For the first time, I started to view life differently,” Knowles said. “I never really had a deep appreciation for nature, but I’m now looking at things I never looked at before [like] sunsets, the ocean, the flowers, and things I just took for granted. I think once you go through any type of disease, you are just grateful when you hopefully make it to the other end of that.”
Making informed decisions
Knowles said he wants to empower people by getting them the knowledge they need.
For instance, many men don’t even know they can develop breast cancer. While it’s rare, 2,790 men will be diagnosed with the disease in the United States this year and 530 men will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.
People also need to know their family history, and Knowles says the best way to do that is to get genetic testing. Knowles, who partnered with AstraZeneca on its BeBRCAware campaign, has now made it his mission to get the word out about genetic testing so everyone can make informed decisions about their health, cancer risks, and care.
“Knowledge is power, and the more information you have about your health, the more informed your decision-making can be,” Knowles said.
