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Mathew Knowles, father of famous singer, actress, and pop stars Beyonce Knowles and Solange Knowles, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

One in every thousand men is diagnosed with breast cancer, making it incredibly rare.

In an interview that aired on Good Morning America, the 67 year old father of the pop stars spoke with Michael Strahan about his diagnosis to kick off October, which also serves as breast cancer awareness month.

Just one percent of all breast cancer cases involve men, according to National Breast Cancer Foundation. Studies show that the percentage of black women, and men who contract breast cancer are low, their mortality rates are higher than most.

 

Knowles said he became worried about his health when he steadily noticed blood on his white t-shirts, and on his bedsheets. There were three instances before he brought it to his wife’s attention, and at that point, she notified him that she found blood on their white bedsheets, at this moment Knowles decided he would go to the doctor.

“For context, in 1980 I worked in the medical division of Xerox. I worked there for eight years, selling Xeroradiography, which was at that point the leading modality for breast cancer. By being in that position, I had to learn, because I sold to radiologists, all of the modality technology terminology. Then I worked with Philips, selling MRI/CT scanners. I just want to give some context to why it got my attention, more so than others.”

Once he visited the doctors, they ran tests, and came to the conclusion that breast cancer was indeed evident in Mr. Knowles.

Knowles stressed the importance of getting tested regularly, for women, and men, especially if it runs in your family.

“But it’s the importance of going and doing it. I get frustrated that people aren’t going to get the procedure. For men and women, it’s taking the time to get a BRCA test — just a simple blood test. You can do it in addition to any other blood tests you’re doing, or you can do it separately. It [can be as low as] $250, and it’s [often] covered by all insurance companies,” he added.