Michael Strahan’s daughter reveals brain tumor diagnosis

Isabella Strahan, 19, shared on “GMA” that she was diagnosed in October 2023 with medulloblastoma, a type of malignant brain tumor.
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Are back now with a moving story from our GMA family Michael a few months ago you got a call no parents should ever have to take yeah hopefully you know you don’t ever didn’t want ever have to get this call George and the call that tell me that my daughter Isabella had brain

Cancer and you know we’d all been sitting here at the desk few days before I was saying that you know she commented that she was having headaches but she’s a freshman in college she’s enjoying college life and I didn’t think much of it when I when I mentioned that to you

Here at the desk I remember having because you were talking about your daughters at college you saying the same thing about oh Isabella is having these headaches but you had no idea how extreme no idea Robin and we’re thinking it was one thing when you know you you

Start to Google things and look at things and we think it was we thought it was one thing but then she kept getting worse and worse and then that’s when we decided she needs to get to the right doctor to see exactly what it is so glad

She was able to keep it private and you the family were able to keep it private for so long but this past weekend she said you know what I’m going to take control here there’s so many things you can’t control this she can her story so

She asked me if I’d sit down with her good morning good morning this morning our dear friend Michael side by side with his daughter Isabella all right here we go here we go as they reveal what they’ve been facing over the last few months Papa Bear papa

Bear oh how proud are you of your daughter for wanting to take control and to be the one to share her story I I mean I’m very proud of her um and she’s always been strong and this is something that is so personal that I didn’t know

If it would be something that she would want to share I’m extremely proud Robin I know that smile anywhere Isabella how are you doing at this very moment how are you feeling I’m feeling good not too bad I don’t know I’m very excited for this whole process to to rap but you

Just have to keep living every day I think through the whole thing soon after starting college at the University of Southern California this past fall the then 18-year-old freshman begins experiencing excruciating headaches unlike any she’s had before didn’t notice anything was off till probably September like October 1st that’s when I

Definitely noticed headaches nausea couldn’t walk straight and what did you think was going on at the time I thought I had vertigo cuz I I I looked that up and Associated that with walking straight so that was my problem you knew she was having headaches but did you

Have any idea how extreme the headaches were no no and you know 18 years old at the time you’re not thinking this maybe it’s vertigo maybe it’s something else but she’s young she’s strong she’s healthy look at her she looks great a few weeks later on October 25th her

Condition taking a turn for the worst I woke up probably at like 1:00 p.m. I dreaded waking up but I was throwing up blood and my sister I was like hm this probably isn’t good so I I texted her who then notified the whole family and

Then that was when we decided you need to really go see a get a thorough checkup and thank goodness for the doctor I I feel like this doctor saved her life she didn’t an EKG there for my heart and like other stuff but she didn’t have an MRI machine so I

Went to take it somewhere else and then she calls me and she’s like you need to head to Cedar sinite right now I’m going to meet you there once the doctor saw the results called her and told her just get to the hospital and but did not tell her why doctors suddenly telling

Isabella she’s developed a fast growing 4 cm tumor in the back of her brain its size larger than a golf ball and you knew about the brain tumor before for yeah Isabella we all know I don’t really remember much I just remember trying to

Figure out how to get to La ASAP and and it just doesn’t feel real Isabella’s diagnosis Meelo blastoma which accounts for 20% of all childhood brain tumors about 500 children per year are diagnosed most commonly between ages 5 to 9 because the wi variant is rare 10%

Um get it but rarely someone who’s 18 19 years old is the one that they feel very confident they can treat the following day on October 27th Isabella undergoing emergency surgery at Cedar siai it sent a signal how serious it was and Nate said hey you shouldn’t risk trying to

Put her on a plane to get her to the east coast to or to another doctor we know what it is and you should get it out as soon as possible the procedure urgent to remove the mass the day before her 19th birthday happy birthday to you Isabella’s recollection of her recovery

Remains foggy like taking her first sips of water does that feel refreshing and learning how to walk again looking too with the help of her twin sister Sophia can I get strawberry ice cream after oh oh yeah she was heavily medicated as you could imagine um 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 a grueling month of rehab Isabella then moving on to several rounds of radiation Treatment I just finished radiation therapy which is proton radiation and I got to ring the bell yesterday it was great it was very exciting because it’s been been a long 30 sessions 6 weeks we can see one side effect to the radiation which you are rocking that D okay let’s

Just say that and were there other side effects that you yeah I would say I experienced fatigue um not too much nausea but definitely towards the end cuz it kind of builds up throughout the weeks what else dizziness I’ve been very dizzy and what’s next for you as far as

A treatment is concerned so I’m going to start chemo therapy the beginning of February at Duke so that’s my next step I’m ready for it to start and one day closer being over you are a definition of a thriv cuz you’re making your mess your message Isabella who’s kept this part of

Her life private online now partnering with Duke’s Children’s Hospital to document her journey in a new YouTube series so I just started it and it’s difficult because when I was trying to see other people who have been affect Ed it’s I think it’s like five in a million so it’s not very common

Um and one person I found I reached out but baby okay take your time okay I told myself I was going to cry D it’s okay it happens yeah it happens are you’re allowed to cry yeah it’s been like two months of keeping it quiet which is definitely difficult I don’t

Want to like hide it anymore cuz it’s hard to always keep in hope to just kind of be a voice and be a person people who maybe are going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at and find something interesting about their day one of the good things is with the YouTube channel

That it’s going to Duke it’s going to help their children’s cancer center it’s important for let people see that there is hope and you have to just go into every day with the best attitude which is what she does I literally think that in a lot of ways I’m I’m the luckiest

Man in the world because I got an amazing daughter and I know she’s going through it but I know that we’re never giv more than we can handle and that she is going to crush this as much as I need her I don’t know what I would do without

Her we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs worked with you for for many years what have you learned about yourself during this poof you learn that you’re probably not as strong as you thought you were when you have to really think about the real things and I realize that

I need support from everybody you think that you know I’m the athlete the tough guy you know I can come and handle I’m the the father in the family and it’s not about any of that it doesn’t matter and it’s really made me change my perspective one so many things in my

Life perspective is a big thing I’m grateful I’m grateful just to walk or see friends or do something cuz when you can’t do something it like really yeah impacts here when you get through this next chapter of your journey what lies ahead for you isella I’m sorry thanks 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 getting back into a routine and something that’s enjoyable something Sophia said to me I think the start of this all she said you you have to keep living just because this is

Happening she’s right and you’ve been doing that y I mean I know this is tough but you you keep on living in the Bella you inspire all of us every single day we’re around you okay and we love you we’re here for you and you got this so I love you too

Say 60 70 years you’ll be bugging somebody I don’t know if it’ll be me I hope it is but you’ll be here baby I mean hard for me to even watch that and um you you you hope your kids never have to experience any kind of pain and and

If or that you can take that from them but I know that this is her journey her life something she’s going to have to go through and we’re not going to say Spectators but we’re just there to make sure that she has support and love that

That she needs and everyone here um my GMA family has been amazing and I’m just thankful that you allowed her to share her story here on our air this morning and Robin there’s no one that I trust more with this than you and and I appreciate you for making her feel

Comfortable enough to come in here and share the most personal thing that she could ever share with with the country I know it wasn’t easy for her to do yeah but now because of launching her YouTube channel and it’s giving her her purpose but also Michael I think about seeing

You those commercials for St Jude all those years yeah and and doing St J commercials for 14 15 years and and one of the lines in the commercial is I say no parents should have to hear that their child has cancer and I would do the line hoping that people would would

See it and go okay let’s help but now I realize I’m the one that needs to help and and St Jude has been amazing through this whole process as well Duke is has been absolutely amazing um even here in New York um you know the doctors here

Have been great and everyone has chipped in and the community has been very helpful to all of us the entire family myself um the girls their mother um and so we’re just we’re fighting through it every day yeah and Isabelle is following your example by helping so many she

Wants to get back she she literally said I want to tell my story and I want to create this YouTube channel and I want to make sure that anything that comes out of this is directed towards the Duke I want to help and it’s as Robin says

You make your mess your message and and she’s making this her message and I’m very proud of her for it because should be no way shape or form that ever going to push her to share anything personal like this and it shows me how strong of

A young woman that she is yeah Daddy’s pretty strong too dad’s pretty Daddy’s holding it together right now best he can I can tell you that thank you thank you well hey there GMA fans Robin Roberts here thanks for checking out our YouTube channel lots of great stuff here

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