Michael Strahan’s 19-year-old daughter Isabella has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, the two announced together Thursday morning.
The announcement occurred on Good Morning America, which Strahan co-hosts. During the interview with Strahan’s co-anchor Robin Roberts, Isabella revealed she learned about her diagnosis in late October and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor on Oct. 27, one day before she turned 19.
.@MichaelStrahan‘s daughter Isabella opens up about her brain tumor battle, with Michael telling @RobinRoberts: “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.” https://t.co/zZJMG7h8OV pic.twitter.com/3GJE4O4jHj
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 11, 2024
“It’s been, like, two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely difficult,” Isabella Strahan said. “I don’t wanna hide it anymore ‘cause it’s hard to always keep in.”
Isabella explained that she began experiencing symptoms in early October, during her freshman year at the University of Southern California. “That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight,” she said on GMA, adding that she informed her family of the symptoms after throwing up blood one morning.
“I’m feeling good, not too bad,” Isabella told Roberts of her current status. “I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap but you just have to keep living every day through the whole thing.”
Strahan revealed that he was informed about the news of Isabella’s diagnosis before she did. The former Super Bowl champion promptly took a leave of absence from GMA and Fox NFL Sunday to be by his daughter’s side. At the time of his absence, Strahan only cited “personal family matters.” More than two months later, Isabella decided to share her story in hopes of inspiring people who might be dealing with something similar.
“I literally think that, in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world, because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” the 52-year-old Strahan said. “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 recently completed a type of radiation called proton therapy and “got to ring the bell yesterday.” She will continue her treatment with chemotherapy at Duke University in February, where the 19-year-old has also partnered with the Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in creating a YouTube series to document her journey. The first episode of the series launched Thursday morning.
“I just hope anyone who sees this knows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that things will get better,” she says in the episode. “Every day is another day closer to getting better.”
