Tina Knowles revealed the lessons she learned after her 2024 breast cancer diagnosis
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She shared how she's since embraced slowing down and focusing more on self-care
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Tina updated her 2025 memoir, Matriarch, to include more about her journey and inspire others to prioritize their health
Tina Knowleslearned an important lesson after herbreast cancer diagnosis.
While appearing on a panel at the 2026 L.A. Times Festival of Books on April 18, Tina, 72, encouraged those in the audience to "get your mammograms" as she acknowledged that she "missed two" screenings before receiving her diagnosis in July 2024.
She explained it was a "miracle" that doctors were able to find it at an early stage. "So go and get your mammograms — it is so important to take care of yourself," she urged.
Tina also said that surrounding yourself with an "inner circle" — whether "they're related to you by blood or if they're friends" — is so important.
"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 shared.
She added, "I had plenty of people that helped me get through it, but some people are not that fortunate."
As for other lessons that Tina took away from her cancer journey, she said she learned that she had to "slow down" and "stop being so codependent."
Now, she explained, "I just really take care of myself and take time to enjoy my life and not be so stressed all the time."
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"That was the biggest lesson that came from this," Tina continued. "It's still hard because, you know, I'm getting on a plane tonight and then I'll get on a plane in two days for one day, and I still fall short sometimes in taking the best care of myself. At least I'm conscious of it now because, you know, you can give and give and give, but you're not gonna be there to give to those people one day if you don't take care of yourself. So that's really important."
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Tina, who is the mom toBeyoncéandSolange Knowles, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer after doctors found it in her left breast. At the time, she was in the middle of writing herMatriarchmemoir.
"I struggled with whether I would share that journey [in the book] because I'm very private," she told PEOPLE in April 2025 of her cancer diagnosis. "But I decided to share it because I think there are a lot of lessons in it for other women."
She added, "And I think as women, sometimes we get so busy and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test. Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me."
In the book, Tina wrote that Beyoncé, 44, “took it well, staying positive, and I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision.” Solange, 39, told her, “Mom, we are going to take care of this.”
For the new paperback version ofMatriarch, Tina added another chapter to share more of her journey. “I end the book with finding out I have breast cancer and going through surgery, just a little bit about it,” she said at the festival panel. “I've had so many people ask me, ‘Well, what did you do? How did you take care of yourself? You know, how was your mental state?' And all of that."
“I just thought that would be a good idea to update it and just put a paperback out because you reach a different audience with paperbacks,” she explained. “And I love the idea of that because I wanted that to happen, but I also wanted to catch people up on what happened since that time and all the lessons that I learned from having that experience because it was a tough ordeal.”
Tina underwent surgery to remove the tumor in late 2024. She also had a breast reduction — and was given the all-clear as of April 2025.
“I'm doing great,” she told PEOPLE previously. “Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early."
"I want to give people hope," she added of sharing her personal story. "What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life."
Matriarch: A Memoiris out now.
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