Isabella, the daughter of Michael Strahan, is facing a serious health challenge—she has a type of cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma. The diagnosis was made in October 2023 after an MRI scan.
Medulloblastoma is a rapidly growing tumor that forms in the cerebellum, located at the back of the brain, responsible for controlling movement and coordination.
Michael Strahan and his daughter shared this emotional news on a segment of “Good Morning America” with Robin Roberts last Thursday.
“Today my daughter @IsabellaStrahan joined @RobinRoberts and myself for an interview about the journey she has been going through on @GMA,” he wrote via Instagram. “I love you Isabella and I’m always by your side. To all sending love, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!”
During the conversation, the University of Southern California freshman shared that she had been keeping a secret for two months, which proved to be challenging.
Isabella, expressing her desire to no longer conceal her journey, mentioned that she didn’t realize something was wrong until around October 1st.
“That’s when I started experiencing headaches, nausea, and difficulty walking straight,” she explained. One morning, she informed her family that she was vomiting blood.
Following a series of tests, including an MRI, she discovered she had a rapidly growing, 4-centimeter tumor, larger than a golf ball. She was swiftly taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.”
The TV personality, aged 52, got the news before his daughter did.
“I don’t really remember much,” he said. “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.”
She had brain surgery in late October, then did rehabilitation and underwent six weeks of radiation treatment. In February, she’ll start chemotherapy at Duke University, where her twin sister, Sophia, is studying.
“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,” she explained.
The model, who just started a collaboration with Sephora, is making a YouTube series to share her journey. She’s teaming up with Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center for this 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,” she said. “I’m just excited for that.”
Strahan initially had doubts about whether Isabella was willing to share her story.
“This is something that is so personal,” he told Roberts, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. “But her idea was, ‘I want to share it and I want to help other people,’ and that goes into the spirit of who she’s always been.”
At one point when Isabella began to get emotional, her dad said, “You’re allowed to cry.”
“I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle,” he went on. “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.”
“It’s hard for me to even watch that. You hope your kids will never experience any kind of pain,” he said. “We are there to make sure she has the love and support that she needs. … I am thankful that you allowed her to share her story. … [Robin] I appreciate you for making her feel comfortable.”
Strahan’s health news follows his unexplained three-week absence from “GMA” due to “personal family matters.” He returned on Nov. 15 without providing details about his break.
Strahan has daughters Isabella and Sophia with his second ex-wife, Jean Muggli. Additionally, he is a father to Tanita, 32, and Michael Jr., 29, from his first marriage to Wanda Hutchins.