beyonce sisters

Mathew Knowles encouraged daughters Beyoncé and Solange to get BRCA gene cancer testing after his breast cancer diagnosis - TheGrio
Beyoncé's dad, Mathew Knowles, reveals that he has breast cancer - Los Angeles Times
Beyoncé's Life As We Know It - The Hornet

Mathew Knowles encouraged daughters Beyoncé and Solange to get BRCA gene cancer testing after his breast cancer diagnosis - TheGrio

Posted: 11 Oct 2019 02:31 AM PDT

Mathew Knowles recently revealed that he was diagnosed with breast cancer and like any concerned parent, he immediately urged his superstar daughters, Beyoncé and Solange, to get genetic testing.

Knowles battled with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy after a shocking diagnosis back in July. One of the first things Knowles, 67, said he did was share the news with Beyoncé and Solange Knowles and encouraged them to get BRCA genetic testing.

The BRCA test is designed to detect if a gene exists that is more likely to develop into

According to BRCA Aware, "BRCA stands for BReast CAncer susceptibility gene. Mutations in the BRCA gene are associated with breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. Women with a BRCA1 mutation have up to a 39% chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70."

The test will work to identify if a person had a BRCA mutation, that makes them at a higher risk of developing cancer.

Knowles told PEOPLE he first noticed he was bleeding from his nipple when blood specks appeared on a T-Shirt – a tell-tale sign of breast cancer.

"My initial reaction was maybe I worked out too hard," he says. "Then I thought, maybe it's some kind of reaction to my medication."

But as he kept bleeding over a few days, he said: "That's when I knew I should go to the doctor," he said.

From there he got testing and tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation.

Knowles said "Beyoncé and Solange have an increased risk" because the BRCA can be inherited.

"They have an exceptional team, and they've gone through precautionary measures," Knowles said.

"They have taken care of that, (the BRCA testing) it's simple testing," he says. "And they're moving on."

After Knowles received a mammogram, he soon learned he had stage 1A breast cancer.

"I had no pain whatsoever," he says. "It wasn't like I had discoloration — nothing. Thankfully I had this dot of blood coming out and thankfully I wore white T-shirts. If I didn't wear white T-shirts, then I might not have noticed."

Knowles said after he learned of his diagnosis at his doctor's office with his wife, Gena Charmaine Avery by his side, he said he called his ex-wife Tina Knowles to tell her.

The diagnosis, Knowles said is something he had never imagined hearing, but admits his family has a history of it. Breast cancer affects some 1 in 800 men.

After his treatment, Knowles reports that he is cancer-free.

"There's always a risk it will come back," he says. "But today I am cancer-free. It just requires me, on a six-month basis, to go to a get an early detection [screening] for my prostate, pancreas, melanoma and breast cancer. If that's the only price I have to pay — every six months spend a day in my life to be inconvenienced to take exams — then I'm very grateful for that."

"It's all about early detection," he says. "The earlier you detect, the better your outcome will be."

Knowles who spoke out recently on Good Morning America said he wants to spread the word so men feel comfortable getting tested.

"I wanted to take away the stigma of shame — the stigma that men have to be tough," he says. "And then I hope I have the opportunity to talk to the heads of the American Cancer Society at some point to voice my feedback, because what I'm hearing is that men actually prefer — regardless if it's the medically correct term — [to call this] 'chest cancer.' That's the word men often use for that area of our body, our chest. I think if we did that, we would have a lot more men go and get exams."

Beyoncé's dad, Mathew Knowles, reveals that he has breast cancer - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 02 Oct 2019 12:00 AM PDT

Mathew Knowles, the father of singers Beyoncé and Solange, has breast cancer and opened up about the disease Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"I also am a survivor of breast cancer," Knowles told "GMA's" Michael Strahan.

The 67-year-old, who was diagnosed about two months ago, was alerted to his condition after noticing a recurring dot of blood on his shirt, which his wife, Gena Avery, also noticed on his sheets. Shortly after that, he had a mammogram and doctors detected a BRCA2 gene mutation, which increases his chances of developing breast cancer and other types of cancer, too.

"I have four things to be concerned about: prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma and breast cancer," Knowles said. "The rest of my life I have to be very much aware and conscious and do all of the early detection — constant mammograms, constant prostate exams, constant MRIs — for the rest of my life."

The revelation came at the kickoff of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a splashy pink campaign that has taken over ABC's nationally televised morning-news show.

"The first call was to my family because this is genetics," he said. "It also means that my kids have a higher chance, a higher risk, even my grandkids have a higher risk. And they handled it like they should. They went and got the test."

In a separate personal essay for ABC, Knowles wrote that his past work in the medical division of Xerox in 1980 helped him notice the red flag about his condition. There is also a prevalent history of breast cancer mortality in his family.

Knowles said he's doing "really good" now because doctors caught the disease early. He had surgery in July and plans to have his second breast removed in January, which should reduce the risk of recurrence from 5% to 2%.

The former music manager is urging everyone, especially black men, who have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than white men, to take the BRCA exam (a simple blood test that looks at the genes.)

"I learned that the numbers we have for men on breast cancer are not adequate because we don't have enough men that come forward that take the exam," he said. "I'm hoping by me coming here today, speaking out, letting folks know that you can survive this — but it has to be early detection. I can't over emphasize the word 'early.'"

Barring some types of skin cancers, breast cancer in the U.S. is the most common cancer in women, no matter what race or ethnicity, according to the American Cancer Society. It's still possible for some men to develop the disease in their breast tissue, though it's not nearly as common — they account for less than 1% of all breast cancer patients. Men also carry a higher mortality rate than women do, the National Breast Cancer Foundation said.

Knowles managed Beyoncé's career since she debuted in the late '90s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, while her mother, Tina, acted as her stylist. They parted ways in 2011 and Beyoncé Knowles, in a later lawsuit, revealed that she had fired him. He also managed her sister Solange, as well as Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, for a time.

He separated from Tina in 2009 after 31 years of marriage and after it was revealed that he had a child with another woman. They divorced in 2011.

Tina later married actor Richard Lawson in 2015. Mathew Knowles married Avery in 2013 and has had two more children since he and Tina divorced.

Beyoncé's Life As We Know It - The Hornet

Posted: 11 Oct 2019 03:49 PM PDT

Beyoncé best known for basically ruling the world. Here is a break down of Beyoncé's fame from who she is now as a musician, actor, activist and everything in between.

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter was born on September 4, 1981 raised by her parents Celestine "Tine" Knowles and her father Mathew Knowles in Houston, Texas. Beyoncé has one younger sister, Solange Knowles.

Her mom was a hair dresser who also owned a hair salon while her father was a Xerox manager.

Early Years:

While attending St. Mary's Montessori school Beyoncé was enrolled in dance class. Knowles interest in music and performing began to grow after she won her school's talent show by singing John Lennon's song, "Imagine" winning first place.

At the young age of eight, Knowles and her best friend Kelly Rowland met Latavia Roberson at an audition for an all girl group.

The girls were then placed into a group with three other girls the group was called, Girls Tyme.

The group rapped and danced in a local Houston talent showcase. The girls got noticed by producer, Arne Fragner. The producer got them on a talent show called "Star Search" unfortunately the Girls Tyme lost the competition.

Beyoncé's father decided to quit his job in 1995 to take on the role of managing the girl group. Which lead his family's financial income in jeopardy causing Knowles' parents to live in separate housings to get by.

Destiny's Child:

The girl group in 1996 decided to change their stage name from Girl Tyme deciding on the name Destiny. During that same year the group then signed with Sony music then to making a contract with Columbia Records. By this time the group had another name change to what is now known as Destiny's Child.

By 1997 the girls released their first labeled song, "Killing Time" to the "Men in Black" soundtrack.

That following year the girls then released their self titled album, "Destiny's Child", which also scored them their first major hit song, "No, No, No". Their record was receiving mainstream attention from the media and around the globe.

Their second album, "Writing's On The Wall" debuted in 1999. The album presented the groups most popular well-known songs, "Bills, Bills, Bills", which was the group's first hit song.

The songs "Jumpin, Jumpin" and "Say My Name" remain the biggest hit songs at the time with "Say My Name" earning the group their first Grammy award.

Group members LeToya Luckett and Roberson were not happy with how their manager was treating resulting in their departure. Who were then replaced by Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.

After Luckett and Roberson left Knowles started to feel depressed and anxious about the whole issue since the original members had just won their first Grammy.

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Several media outlets and critics were blamed Beyoncé for the affect it had. Beyoncé suffered from the mental illness for a couple years keeping to herself and wasn't eating. Her mental state was not because she didn't voice her thoughts but because Destiny's Child had just won a Grammy.

Beyoncé didn't want the issue to be the only topic the media focused fearing no one would take her seriously after everything cleared up.

The trio began working on a song called, "Independent Women Part 1" for the 2000 movie "Charlie's Angel's" based on the 1970s series of the same name. The song reached another level of music charts and received tons of praise from their fans for weeks.

In 2001, during the recording process of Destiny's Child's third record "Survivor" Beyoncé then took on another role in her career. It became the start of her acting career in MTV's "Carmen: A Hip Hoppera" which was set in Philadelphia.

"Survivor" was still going strong and went straight to number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

Both track titles, "Bootylicious" and record titled, "Survivor" both gained the group a Grammy award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.

During Beyoncé's career in Destiny's Child her and Jay- Z released a song called, "Bonnie & Clyde" in 2002. This was Beyoncé first solo song without the voices of Williams and Rowland.

Beyoncé's Formation:

In 2003, Beyoncé then released her own solo album called, "Dangerously in Love". For it being her first solo record. Off her first record she then released another duet song with Jay- Z called, "Crazy in Love." The song became Knowles first hit song as a solo artist.

From that record she then released song's like, "Baby Boy' that also went number one along with record track songs, "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl", which both gained success.

Destiny's Child decided to part ways in 2004 by releasing their final record called, "Destiny Fulfilled." The last studio album released songs such as "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier" which both peaked on to the music charts.

The group went on farewell tour called "Destiny Fulfilled and Lovin It Tour" which was sponsored by McDonald's. During the tour not only did they perform original Destiny's Child tracks they also performed their own solo material as well.

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In March of 2006 the ladies came together to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a unit the group sold over 50 million records world wide.

Leading to Beyoncé's film debut in "The Pink Panther" released February 2006 along side Steve Martin, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and more.

Beyoncé's second film, "Dream Girls" was released in December 2006 her character was an aspiring music artist. Beyoncé' promoted the film releasing the song "Listen" off of the movie soundtrack.

Sasha Fierce/ Life:

2008 was a big year for Beyoncé which is when when she got married to her husband, Jay-Z . The singer publicly announced her nuptials to the rapper her album "I am…Sasha Fierce" listening party in New York by viewing some clips of their day.

The "I am…Sasha Fierce" album reveals Beyoncé's alter ego, Sasha Fierce. The album, "I am…Sasha Fierce" is known for her hit songs, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," "If I Were A Boy" and "Halo."

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At the start of they year Beyoncé got the opportunity to perform at the inauguration for President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle In 2009. In March 2009 Beyoncé started her "I Am… World Tour" which was her second headlining tour.

Beyoncé's life and career was in full swing with her song "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) nominated for Best Female Video at the 2009 "MTV Video Music Awards."

The award went to Taylor Swift's music video "You Belong With Me" instead of Beyoncé. Which lead to the famous Kanye West moment which he interrupts Swift's acceptance speech.

Later that night Beyoncé won Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" inviting Swift back onstage to finally say what she before she got interrupted by West.

Before taking a ten month break in 2010 Beyoncé was featured in Lady Gaga's song, "Telephone."

The Next Phase:

Beyoncé made her comeback by making history at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, being the first woman in history to headline the musical event.

Two days later she then released her fourth studio record, "Four" which came out in the U.S. Her record went straight to number one with her two singles, "Run The World (Girls)" and "Best Thing I Never Had."

Beyoncé then received a writing award titled, "New York Association of Black Journalists" for her "Essence" cover story,"Eat, Play, Love" which she speaks about her 10 month break and what she went through during that period.

The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards was a highlight for the Beyoncé and Jay-Z announcing on the VMA stage that her family would be expanding. Beyoncé and Jay-Z were expecting their first child due in 2012.

In February of 2013, Beyoncé headlined the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII Pepsi halftime show performing some of her hit songs such as, "Love on Top," "Crazy in Love," "End of Time" and "Baby Boy."

Beyoncé surprised audiences with former band mates Rowland and Williams performing three of their hit numbers "Bootylicious," "Independent Women" and a different rendition of her solo song "Single Ladies."

Beyoncé released her next song, "Drunk in Love" featuring Jay-Z. The song went to the second spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

In April 2014 the duo announced that they would be supporting one another on tour together called, "On The Run Tour."

By August, MTV honored her with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her musical achievements at the 2014 annual MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2015 the husband and wife duo won a Grammy for "Drunk in Love" at the annual 57th Grammy Awards.

"Lemonade":

Beyoncé released her sixth record in 2016 called, "Lemonade" which was also a film that was aired on HBO. "Lemonade' went straight to the number one spot on the music charts.

In her visual album that was later released on the music streaming platform, "TIDAL" paved the way for so many artists. She questions her relationship with Jay-Z, quoting from Rolling Stone Magazine, "Are you cheating on me?"

The record sheds light on different issues that she was going through personally and publicly. It also speaks volumes on a variety of social problems such as racism, culture, and woman empowerment.

The record also received attention at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards being nominated in eleven categories for her visuals on the album. That night she won eight of those awards including the award of the night, Video of the year, for her music video, "Formation".

By winning eight awards that evening, she then became the most awarded artist to have received 24 awards collected over the years.

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Beyoncé was announced to headline Coachella 2017 but unfortunately had to cancel due to doctors orders. After having to cancel her appearance Beyoncé performed at Coachella 2018 headlining both weekends. It was the most viewed, streamed and talked about Coachella performance of the year.

"The Lion King":

The Walt Disney Company in 2018 released news that a live action remake of The Lion King was on its way to theaters. It was then confirmed by E! News that Beyoncé was indeed going to take on the role of Nala in the film.

Prior to the release of the live action remake of "The Lion King" Beyoncé released a Netflix documentary/concert film, "Homecoming." The film received six Emmy nominations.

"The Lion King" remake directed by Jon Favreau was released in theaters on July 19, 2019. Beyoncé along with some of her cast mate Donald Glover sang together in the song, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?"

Favreau's remake of "The Lion King" is available on Blu-ray/DVD Oct 22 and digitally on Oct. 11.

Over the years Beyoncé keeps using her platform to spread awareness for different controversial topics. Throughout her career and personal life she has been a role model to so many people around the world. Beyoncé is an excellent representation of her song "Formation" because her life has and still is growing with love an empowerment.

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