Matthew Knowles is a university lecturer, record executive, and businessman. However, he’s most known for managing Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, and Solange Knowles at different points in their careers. He’s also the founder of Music World Entertainment, which focuses on children’s, gospel, and country music.
In 2019, he announced on ‘Good Morning America’ that he’d been diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer. After this diagnosis, he did surgery to remove the affected breast and carried out genetic tests. These tests revealed that he had the BRCA2 gene mutation that increased his risk of developing breast cancer. When writing about his experience a year later, Knowles noted that he would have handled his health differently if he’d known more about breast cancer in men.
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What Is Breast Cancer?
In breast cancer, some cells in the breast grow out of control. While it’s more common in women, it’s estimated that 1 in 100 Americans who are diagnosed with breast cancer are men. When the numbers were broken down further, it was found that Black men are 52 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than other ethnicities.
There’s a lot that doctors still don’t know about what causes breast cancer but some of the risk factors include having a family history of breast cancer, being obese, having cirrhosis of the liver, and having Klinefelter’s syndrome. You’re also more likely to develop breast cancer as you age.
If you’re dealing with breast cancer, a few of the symptoms you can expect include the nipple turning inwards, a hard, painless lump in the breast, a rash on the breast that doesn’t go away, nipple discharge, and thickening skin around the nipple.
Male Vs. Female Breast Cancer
There are two reasons why breast cancer is more common in females than males, MedicalNewsToday notes:
Breast development and anatomy. According to the American Cancer Society, males typically have low levels of hormones that cause milk ducts and lobules to grow, and as a result, the breast tissue does not grow as much. Although male breasts have ducts, they only have a few lobules and mainly consist of fat tissue.
Estrogen levels. The more that cells divide, the more chance there is of cancer occurring. BreastCancer.org notes that breast cells in females are highly active and receptive to estrogen, while breast cells in males are inactive and not exposed to high estrogen levels.
According to the American Cancer Society, male-specific risk factors include: