Just days ago, Michael Strahan’s brave daughter Isabella spoke about her painful cancer battle Now, the ‘Good Morning America’ host made the sad announcement
Isabella Strahan, Michael Strahan’s daughter, has talked about how hard it was for her to recover after having surgery to remove a rare and quickly growing tumor from her brain.
The 19-year-old freshman at the University of Southern California was told she had medulloblastoma in October after she started having “excruciating headaches” and throwing up every morning.
After being diagnosed, she had to have surgery right away. After that, she had a “grueling month of rehab” that included learning how to walk again.
The teenage daughter of Good Morning America host Michael Strahan showed in a series of videos on YouTube how horrible the surgery really was.
Isabella Strahan (pictured) talked about her recovery after having emergency surgery to remove a 4cm tumor from her brain.
The teen had to go to the hospital for a month to get better. She even had to learn how to walk again after her surgery. Read More
Isabella said in a YouTube video, “It’s been rough, it’s been challenging, and it’s been very hard, but I know I’ll get through it.”
The aspiring model then talked about some of the side effects she had after the surgery, which removed a 4cm tumor. She had to use a walker and a wheelchair to get around afterward.
The college student said she was also very emotional after surgery, which she blamed on the steroids she was on. She said she would “bawl” every time she met a new person.
Isabella also said that she has been in New York sick after surgery for longer than she was in college, which was 68 days.
She told the viewers, “I’ll be back.” “Taking a break.”
The 19-year-old also had to freeze her eggs because the radiation and chemotherapy could make it harder for her to have children.
She said, “That wasn’t fun for me.” “I’m not a big fan of needles, so this whole thing… I’m used to getting blood and IVs, but shots? That was tough.
“Mostly, I got three shots in the stomach every day for about a week. It hurt so badly.”
Isabella and her father Michael went on Good Morning America last week and told everyone about her terrible diagnosis.
The freshman in college said she was excited to go back. She joked that she’s even envious of her twin sister Sophia, who is taking her finals.
The 19-year-old also had to freeze her eggs because the radiation and chemotherapy could make it harder for her to have children. She is shown in the picture with her twin sister Sophia in the hospital.
The teen then had her egg retrieval on Thanksgiving. She said that after the procedure, she went home and “slept for six or seven hours.” She then got up and spent the holiday with her family.
Isabella began radiation therapy after Thanksgiving. A week into the treatment, she chose to shave her head.
“So I cut my hair probably around the end of the second week,” she said, adding that she did it at 4 a.m., calling it a “mid-life crisis.”
The hair began to thin and fall out… I couldn’t even look at myself because it was probably worse than not having hair.
“Yes, it’s sad,” she said, adding that she had been working on it for about 18 years.
“Because I don’t really cut my hair,” she said.
Isabella said she wore a wig, but she felt better without it.
Her simple answer was, “It’s just not my hair.” “However, it does look a lot alike.”
Isabella is optimistic about the future, even though she has to go through six months of chemotherapy at Duke University, where her twin sister Sophia is a student. She says it’s nice to have home-cooked meals and be with her dogs.
Following Thanksgiving, Isabella began radiation therapy. A week into the treatment, she made the choice to shave her head.
Isabella is excited about what’s to come and says it’s nice to eat home-cooked meals and spend time with her dogs. This picture shows her with Michael and Sophia at Thanksgiving.
The college student said she was looking forward to getting back to normal life.
She said with longing, “Obviously I can’t really go to school right now, and it’s crazy how much I wish I could take Sophia’s final exam or just go back to school.” “But that will get better.”
Isabella told everyone about her diagnosis for the first time on Good Morning America last week, when she was with her father, Michael.
Dr. David Ashley, Isabella’s doctor, also went on GMA and said that her prognosis was good even though the type of tumor she had was “incredibly rare”—less than 10 cases a year in people her age.
There are four kinds of medulloblastoma, and Dr. Ashley told GMA that Isabella has what is called a WNT subtype of this.
Patients have a 90% or higher chance of living for five years or more, and most of them are completely cured.
“With Isabella, I’m very hopeful that things will turn out great.” She is doing wonderful.
