Famed music executive Mathew Knowles says his experience selling mammography equipment helped him recognize the warning signs of male breast cancer.
The longtime manager and father of Beyoncé and Solange appeared on the Tuesday (June 30) episode of Outlaws with T.S. Madison, where he reflected on his breast cancer diagnosis and early detection in 2019.
According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, Knowles was diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer linked to a BRCA2 gene mutation. He later underwent a mastectomy, which successfully removed the cancer.
Around the 34-minute mark of the interview, Knowles explained that he was fortunate to have extensive knowledge about breast cancer because he previously sold mammography equipment while working at Xerox.
“I knew when I had discharge in my chest area that that was a high probability [and] called my doctor,” he told Madison, adding that he became the first male patient to ask his doctor for a mammogram.
“Early detection is so critically important. And I’m grateful I was stage 1A. That saved my life,” Knowles said. “The universe wanted me for some reason to save my life by selling equipment that one day saved my life.”
He also revealed that Destiny’s Child’s hit song “Survivor” became his personal anthem throughout his battle with cancer.
According to breast cancer advocacy organization Susan G. Komen, about 2,700 men in the United States are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year.
“It’s one of those things men don’t like to talk about because society has made us think we can’t talk about it,” Knowles said. “I’m just the opposite. If I can save someone’s life today, then that makes today really special.”
Knowles also noted that his ex-wife, Tina Knowles, revealed in her memoir Matriarch last year that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer after missing a routine mammogram. The entrepreneur has since shared that she is now cancer-free.
