Michael Strahan’s Daughter Isabella, 20, Opens Up About Brain Tumor Diagnosis — Her Powerful Message: ‘You Just Have to Keep Living Every Day’

Michael Strahan and his 20-year-old daughter, Isabella Strahan, are sharing one of the most difficult chapters of their family’s life after she revealed she has been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor that develops in the cerebellum at the base of the skull.

The college student and her father spoke candidly during an emotional interview on Good Morning America, explaining how everything changed within weeks after Isabella began experiencing unexpected symptoms while attending her freshman year at the University of Southern California.

According to Isabella, she first noticed something wasn’t right around the beginning of October.

“I didn’t notice anything was off until probably like Oct. 1,” she explained. “That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight.”

At first, she believed the symptoms were related to vertigo. However, her condition suddenly worsened on Oct. 25 when she woke up in the early morning hours vomiting blood, prompting her family to insist she seek immediate medical attention.

Michael recalled that moment as the turning point.

“That was when we decided, ‘You need to really go get a thorough checkup,'” he said. “Thank goodness for the doctor. I feel like this doctor saved her life because she was thorough enough to say, ‘Let’s do the full checkup.'”

An MRI performed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center revealed a fast-growing tumor measuring approximately four centimeters—larger than a golf ball—located at the back of Isabella’s brain.

She underwent emergency surgery on Oct. 27, just one day before celebrating her 19th birthday.

Reflecting on hearing the diagnosis before his daughter did, Michael admitted the news was almost impossible to process.

“It didn’t feel real,” he said. “I don’t really remember much. I just remember trying to figure out how to get to Los Angeles ASAP.”

The former NFL star immediately stepped away from his hosting duties on Good Morning America, with ABC later explaining that he was handling “personal family matters.”

Following surgery, Isabella completed six weeks of radiation therapy, undergoing 30 treatment sessions before beginning a month of rehabilitation. During that recovery period, her twin sister Sophia remained by her side, helping her relearn how to walk.

“I got to ring the bell yesterday,” Isabella told fellow cancer survivor Robin Roberts. “It was great. It was very exciting because it’s been a long 30 sessions, six weeks.”

Her next stage of treatment will involve chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Despite everything she has faced, Isabella remains remarkably optimistic.

“I’m feeling good. Not too bad,” she said. “I’m ready for it to start and be one day closer to being over. I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap. But you just have to keep living every day, I think, through the whole thing.”

Michael expressed complete confidence in his daughter’s determination.

“I literally think that, in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” he 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.”

Medulloblastoma is one of the more common malignant brain tumors found in children, with roughly 500 diagnoses each year in the United States. However, Michael noted that it is uncommon for someone Isabella’s age.

“It’s still scary because it’s still so much to go through,” he admitted. “The hardest thing to get over is to think that she has to go through this herself.”

Isabella has also decided to publicly document her recovery through a new YouTube series that will benefit Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, hoping her experience can encourage others facing similar challenges.

“It’s been like two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely difficult,” she explained. “I don’t want to hide it anymore because it’s hard to always keep in. I hope to just kind of be a voice, and be someone who maybe people going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at.”

Looking back, Isabella says the experience has completely reshaped how she views everyday life.

“Perspective is a big thing,” she reflected. “I’m grateful. I am grateful just to walk or see friends or do something, because when you can’t do something, it really impacts you.”

Michael says the journey has transformed him as well.

“You learn that you’re probably not as strong as you thought you were when you have to really think about the real things,” he said. “I realized that I need support from everybody. You think, ‘I’m the athlete, the tough guy, I’m the father in the family.’ It is not about any of that. It doesn’t matter. It’s really made me change my perspective on so many things in my life.”

Source: DailyMail.co.uk