Michael Strahan and Model Daughter Isabella Reveal Secret Brain Cancer Battle
One day after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, Isabella was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to have her brain tumor removed, which at the time was slightly larger than a golf ball.
Michael Strahan revealed his daughter Isabella Strahan is battling brain cancer in an emotional interview on Thursday.
The "Good Morning America" host appeared on the ABC morning show to discuss the diagnosis alongside Isabella, a 19-year-old model who can currently be seen in ads for Sephora and NFL Collection.
Isabella told host Robin Roberts that she started to get concerned that something was not right around Oct. 1 of last year, while attending class at the University of Southern California.
"That's when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn't walk straight," Isabella told Roberts, who is a two-time cancer survivor, having battled breast cancer in 2007 and myelodysplastic syndrome in 2012.
Isabella said that after looking up her symptoms she thought she might have vertigo, but by the end of the month things had gotten progressively worse.
"I woke up, probably at like, 1 p.m. I dreaded waking up. But I was throwing up blood," said Isabella. "I was like, ‘Hmm, this probably isn't good.' So I texted [my sister], who then notified the whole family."
Michael said that at this point the family decided that Isabella needed to see a doctor, a decision that may have saved her life.
Isabella soon learned that she had medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer that is diagnosed in approximately 357 people a year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
One day after learning the news, Isabella was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to have her brain tumor removed, which at the time was slightly larger than a golf ball.
She spent the next month going through rehab and soon after began six weeks of radiation.
Her family was by her side through it all, including dad, Michael, who took three weeks off to be with his daughter.
Isabella said her biggest cheerleader through this all has been her sister Sophia, who got to be there when Isabella took her first steps after the operation to remove her tumor.
She then became emotional while recalling a conversation she had with her sister during her recovery. "She said, 'You have to keep living,' [don't stop] just because this is happening,'" said Isabella.
Isabella will be starting chemotherapy treatment in February at Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center in North Carolina, and in the interim had launched a YouTube vlog to help educate people by sharing her journey.
Medulloblastoma can happen at any age but is most often diagnosed in young children. It is the most common cancerous brain tumor in children.
The five-year survival rate for medulloblastoma is 72.1 percent, according to the NCI.