Isabella Strahan, the 19-year-old daughter of “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan, is bravely facing the challenges of medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor.
In an interview with co-anchor Robin Roberts on Thursday, Michael expressed gratitude for his amazing daughter, stating, “I literally think that in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” Michael Strahan said in an interview with his fellow co-anchor, Robin Roberts. “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.”
Isabella began experiencing symptoms in October during her freshman year at the University of Southern California, initially attributing them to vertigo.
However, her condition worsened, leading to a crucial medical checkup. An MRI revealed a fast-growing 4-centimeter tumor in the back of her brain, diagnosed as medulloblastoma.
Isabella underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai on October 27, the day before her 19th birthday. She faced a challenging recovery, requiring the support of her twin sister, Sophia, to relearn walking.
“She was heavily medicated, as you could imagine,” Michael Strahan said. “But she would have conversations. She had a lot of her friends and they would come over just to sit with her. And there were times when she was in a lot of pain. She was sleeping a lot.”
After surgery, Isabella Strahan also underwent a month of rehabilitation and several rounds of radiation treatment.
“So I just finished radiation therapy, which is proton radiation, and I got to ring the bell yesterday,” she said. “It was great. It was very exciting because it’s been a long 30 sessions, six weeks.”
Despite the physical toll, Isabella expressed optimism, sharing, “I’m feeling good. Not too bad. And I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap. But you just have to keep living every day, I think, through the whole thing.”
In February, Isabella plans to begin chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina. To share her journey and raise awareness, she’s partnering with Duke for a YouTube series.
“It’s been like, two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely difficult,” she said. “I don’t wanna hide it anymore ’cause it’s hard to always keep in. I hope to just kind of be a voice, and be [someone] who people, maybe [those who] are going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at.”
Looking ahead, Isabella is focused on returning to college in California and resuming a fulfilling routine after completing her treatment.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to college and moving back to California and just starting my school experience over. Not over, but just restarting, being back into a routine and something that’s enjoyable,” she said.
Photos: GMA
