Mathew Knowles on the importance of genetic testing and what he has learned as a breast cancer survivor

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While we all know that black women are 40% more more likely to die from the disease, black men are also in danger because they’re 52% more more likely to develop breast cancer in comparison with white men. This risk is higher for every kind of breast cancer and in all age groups.

One of the most famous fathers in America experienced this firsthand. While Mathew Knowles is a global leader in sales and marketing, brand development, entrepreneurship and leadership, he is chargeable for developing, recording and distributing some of the most notable careers in culture, including Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Earth, Wind & Fire, Solange and many others, even have helpful health lessons to share with the world, mainly about prevention and the importance of early detection.

Knowles is actually a survivor because he is a male breast cancer survivor who lives with a BRCA2 gene mutation. The diagnosis took him completely by surprise – almost as much as the decision to undergo a mastectomy, a procedure he believed was reserved for ladies battling breast cancer. Now five years into remission, he has decided to make it his passion to share his story and encourage others, especially black men, to discover their very own risk for breast and other cancers and the way to reduce it.

Mathew has partnered with AstraZeneca on the BeBRCAware camp to extend the effectiveness of his advocacy efforts. The goal of this campaign is to teach people about the importance of genetic testing, understanding family history and risk for breast, prostate and other cancers, and how the presence of an inherited BRCA mutation may also help inform health care. We spoke with Knowles about his experience battling breast cancer and why he is so captivated with educating others about genetic testing for recovery.

BEING: Can you share your experience with breast cancer with our readers? What alerted you that something was flawed?

Matthew Knowles: Five years, two months ago I used to be wearing a white T-shirt. Imagine you will have a white sheet of paper and a red pen and you set five dots on it. So after I modified my shirt, I saw these five dots on my shirt. The first day I didn’t think anything about it, but on the second day I saw red dots in the same place. So I asked my wife if she had any latest shirts. She said, “You know, there have been red blood stains on your side of the bed for the last few days.” The next day I saw discharge and immediately called the doctor. While talking to him, I suggested getting a mammogram. He said he’s never had a male patient ask for a mammogram, but we’ve one and I used to be actually diagnosed with male breast cancer.

When I underwent surgery, it turned out that the disease went further than breast cancer. I received a genetic test that showed I had a BRCA2 gene mutation. Which means, Dominique, that 1/2 of the genetic mutations are related to an increased risk of breast cancer in men and women, ovarian cancer (not cervical cancer), prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and melanoma.

How have you ever modified your lifestyle given this news?

I used to be diagnosed with 2, so there was no treatment plan, just awareness, which is why we do what we do today: bring awareness. I even have partnered with AstraZeneca to teach as many individuals as possible about genetic testing. I also modified my lifestyle. For me, that meant losing a few pounds. I used to be chubby. With changes to my weight loss program and consistent exercise, I lost 30 kilos. Now I walk two miles in 45 minutes!

How has your status helped you educate people about the importance of proactively taking care of your health?

You know, quite interesting. I used to be sharing this with my wife last night. My dad was a volunteer firefighter in a small town in Alabama and my mom was a volunteer at a hospital. Watching my parents give back to the community filled me with enthusiasm and joy to present back and share my knowledge. I’m grateful that I even have a platform where I can share and that I can discuss breast cancer in men and women and the importance of early detection, the importance of, for my part, early genetic testing and early mammography.