Mathew Knowles opened up about his breast cancer diagnosis in an emotional interview on Wednesday in hopes of encouraging other men to get tested and tell their stories.
Speaking to “Good Morning America,” the father of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles said he received the news this summer, after noticing recurring bloodstains on his shirts and bedsheets.
The diagnosis caught the 67-year-old music executive off guard.
“Of all the things I could get, why would I get this?” he said to “GMA” co-anchor Michael Strahan. “From a man’s perspective, I’m thinking, ‘Why me?’”
Knowles said he’s doing “really good” after undergoing surgery in July. Still, the experience has changed his life perspective, prompting him to stop drinking alcohol and begin exercising and meditating regularly.
“The rest of my life I have to be very much aware and conscious and do all of the early detection,” he said, adding that his family has been by his side and has been tested, too.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, less than 1% of all breast cancer cases develop in men, and only 1 in 1,000 men will ever be diagnosed with the disease.
But Knowles warned those figures may not present the full picture because “we don’t have enough men that come forward, that take the exam.” He also pointed to statistics showing that Black men are more likely to die from breast cancer than white men.
“Men want to keep it hidden because we feel embarrassed — and there’s no reason for that,” 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.”
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Watch the full “Good Morning America” interview with Knowles below.