In an interview with Robin Roberts that aired on Good Morning America on Thursday, Michael Strahan and his daughter Isabella shared the devastating news of her brain cancer diagnosis.
Isabella was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in October 2023. Previously, she struggled with constant headaches during her freshman year of college at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t realize anything was wrong until probably around October 1,” she told Roberts. “That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight.”
“I’m feeling well. Not too bad,” she said and added she is to start therapy next month.
Before she was diagnosed, Isabella felt dizzy at times and she believed that was the reason behind her headaches, but one day in October of last year, she felt ill and started vomiting blood. That’s when she knew something serious was going on.
“I was thinking, ‘Hm, this probably isn’t good.’ So I texted [my sister], who told the entire family.”
“That was when we decided, ‘You need to really go get a thorough checkup,’” Michael said. “Thank goodness for the doctor. I believe this doctor saved her life by saying, ‘Let’s perform the whole checkup.’”
After a series of tests and scans, doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discovered a tumor the size of a golf ball in the back of her brain that was developing rapidly.
“I don’t really remember much,” Michael admitted. “All I remember was trying to find out how to get to LA as soon as possible. And it simply doesn’t seem genuine. It didn’t feel real.”
Following a surgery and many months of radiation therapy, as well as time to rehabilitate, Isabella was finally able to ring the bell.
“It was fantastic. It was quite thrilled since it had been a lengthy 30 sessions over six weeks.
“It’s been about two months of remaining silent, which is obviously challenging. I don’t want to hide it anymore because it’s hard to keep in,” she remarked. “I hope to just kind of be a voice, and be [someone] who maybe [those who] are going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at.”
Her dad added, “I literally think that in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’ve got an amazing daughter. I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle and that she is going to crush this.”
We are so happy Isabella is now cancer free.