Male Breast Cancer Awareness with Mathew Knowles

On Oct. 24, 2024, Mathew Knowles, a breast cancer survivor and the father of iconic artists Beyoncé and Solange will be speaking at the first annual Ignite the Conversation Fireside Chat organized by the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.

The event will be held at the Marriott Chateau Champlain in Montreal for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation spokesperson Catherine Verdon-Diamond and CEO Karine-Iseult Ippersiel, and Knowles will be be speaking with the goal of educating the public.

Knowles was diagnosed with stage 1A breast cancer in July 2019, but he has been raising awareness about male breast cancer since the 1980s. He spent 20 years selling medical equipment such as mammographs to hospitals. He says this former career had familiarized him with potential symptoms and helped him get an early diagnosis.

He has been very vocal about his experience with the disease and has been actively advocating for early detection, especially genetic testing, which can indicate whether someone is at a higher risk of developing malignant cancer.

Some cases of male breast cancer, including Knowles’, are due to a genetic mutation in the BRCA2 gene, but most breast cancers in men are not caused by inherited factors, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Knowles’ advocacy is centered around destigmatizing the fact that men can develop breast cancer. He says he would like hospitals to better accommodate male patients by having them wear blue robes instead of pink when undergoing mammography and other treatments. He also thinks it would be beneficial to eliminate questions like “when was your last menstrual cycle” when dealing with male patients.

Knowles believes all of these factors contribute to the late detection of male breast cancer. As per the ACS, “Most oncologists will rarely see and treat a man with breast cancer. Even when a man sees his primary care physician with unusual chest symptoms, neither the doctor nor the patient expects breast cancer—and so it often goes undiagnosed until it is more advanced.”

His wish is to change things thanks to his platform and his talks. Montreal is the second stop on his Canadian tour.

According to a press release, the event will revolve around overlooked aspects of the cancer, with a special focus on how the disease affects men and people of colour.

According to a 2024-25 study by the ACS, Black women have five per cent lower breast cancer incidence, but 38 per cent higher mortality rates. Black women also have the lowest survival rate for any known stage of breast cancer, and Black men have the highest male breast cancer incidence and mortality.

As for Indigenous and Alaska-Native women, they face a 10 per cent lower incidence for a six per cent higher mortality rate compared to white women. They are the only group for which the latter percentage has not dropped since the 1990s.

Though high mortality rates are associated with lack of access of quality care for marginalized communities which leads to later diagnoses, Knowles believes it is also a matter of prioritizing one’s health. He says he sees people spending money on tickets to a Beyoncé concert, yet won’t pay for a mammography.

He however recognized the difficult financial situation that lead people to choosing between getting a mammography or going to work to support their families.

“This is a choice no one should have to make,” Knowles said.

The ACS states that the average lifetime risk of getting breast cancer for men is about 1 in 726. According to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), around 290 men are expected to get diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, 60 are expected to die.

According to the CCS, symptoms of breast cancer for men include but are not limited to: discharge or bleeding from the nipple, crusting of the nipple, a nipple that suddenly points inward or becomes inverted, pain or swelling of the breast, and a lump in the armpit.