Beyonce's Dad Speaks Out About His Breast Cancer Diagnosis

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Beyonce and Solange Knowles' dad, Matthew Knowles, is speaking out about his battle with breast cancer, and urged others to get tested early as a form of prevention.

Gettyimages | Santiago Felipe

"Good Morning America" carried the previously taped interview with Knowles, where he discusses how he found out he had breast cancer.

Knowles told GMA host Michael Strahan that he first noticed a dot of blood on his shirt; later, his wife said she also noticed some dots of blood on the sheets.

He says he "immediately" went to his doctor and got a mammogram.

"It was very clear that I had breast cancer," he said. Knowles had surgery in July.

As part of the cause was genetic, Knowles says he contacted his family first and foremost, adding that members of the family got tested for the disease:

"The first call was to my family. That was the very first call, because this is genetics. It also means that my kids have a higher chance, a higher risk. Even my grandkids have a higher risk. They handled it like they should — they went on and got the test."

Knowles also wanted to let "folks know that you can survive this, but it has to be early detection. I can't over emphasize the word 'early.' "

Knowles says these days he's doing well and is exercising and cutting out alcohol.

"I just wanted to have a clean bill of health," he says.

He also urged other men to come forward; it's not just a woman's disease.

"I learned that the numbers that we have for men on breast cancer are not adequate because we don’t have enough men that come forward that take the exam."

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