‘Good Morning America’ Host Michael Strahan Announces Daughter’s Brain Cancer Diagnosis
A “Good Morning America” interview turned very somber on Thursday when Michael Strahan and his daughter revealed her brain cancer diagnosis.
Isabella Strahan, 19, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor (medulloblastoma) last October.
The New York Post reported: “Medulloblastoma is a cancerous and fast-growing brain tumor that develops in the cerebellum, the back of the brain where movement and coordination are controlled.”
Michael and Isabella revealed the diagnosis in an emotional interview with Robin Roberts on Thursday’s broadcast of “Good Morning America.”
During the interview, Isabella, a freshman at the University of Southern California, shared she has struggled in the last “months … keeping it quiet,” adding that it “has been difficult.”
The young lady reported first noticing “something was off” on October 1. Symptoms intensified and soon she experienced significant nausea and headaches. That was followed by an inability to “walk straight [and] throwing up blood.”
Medial experts at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles discovered that Isabella had a “fast-growing, four-centimeter tumor.”
The concerned father shared: “I don’t really remember much [about that day]. I just remember trying to figure out how to get to LA ASAP. And it just doesn’t feel real. It just didn’t feel real.”
Surgeons performed brain surgery in late October. Weeks of rehabilitation and radiation treatment followed the surgery.
The optimistic Isabella, who will begin chemotherapy in February, reported: “I’m feeling good, not too bad. I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap but you just have to keep living every day through the whole thing.”
Isabella also reported that she recently launched a “campaign” with her twin sister, Sephoria, a YouTube series to document her experience. Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center is a partner in the project.
“With my platform, I hope to just kind of be a voice and be a person who people who maybe are going through something similar, going through chemotherapy or radiation, can look at and just hear and just watch, or find something interesting about their day,” Isabella said. “I’m just excited for that.”
Michael also exemplified optimism, saying during the interview: “I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle. She is going to crush this.”
“I know this has been tough, but you keep living Isabella,” he added. “We love you. We’re here for you and you got this.”
After the interview, Michael posted on Instagram: “Today my daughter @IsabellaStrahan joined @RobinRoberts and myself for an interview about the journey she has been going through on @GMA.”
Michael added: “I love you Isabella and I’m always by your side. To all sending love, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!”
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