Michael Strahan's Daughter Could Have Died 'Within Weeks' of Cancer Diagnosis Without Treatment, Says Her Doctor (Exclusive)

On October 28, 2023, Isabella Strahan underwent emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor, which her neuro-oncologist, Dr. David Ashley, describes it as “somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball”.

It was her 19th birthday and Isabella was in the fight of her life.

Diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that most often occurs in children and teenagers, Isabella survived. “Without treatment, she would be dead within the next few weeks, I have no doubt,” said Dr. Ashley, director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, who oversaw her care. “I was impressed by her resilience.”

Michael Strahan with Isabella.

Victoria Will

Like her family, including her father, Good morning America co-host, Michael Strahan, twin sister Sophia and their mom Jean Muggli (the couple divorced in 2006 after seven years of marriage). “They all came together to put their life on hold for mine,” Isabella says in an exclusive interview with this week’s PEOPLE. “They gave me a lot of strength.”

While undergoing cancer treatment, she shared her story in real time in a series of YouTube vlogs. Now, along with her family, she appears in an upcoming ABC special: Ending a Life: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancerr, airing February 5 at 10 p.m., followed by Disney + and Hulu on February 6.

Sophia hugs her twin sister Isabella.

Victoria Will

The experience was excruciating at times, like when she underwent grueling rounds of chemotherapy (“My first round was like a giant root canal,” she recalls. “My jaw hurt like someone had pulled my teeth.”) MRI. discovered an infection at the site of the operation, she had two subsequent operations and part of her skull was replaced with a titanium mesh plate. But her story is also a story about never losing hope.

Twins as babies.

Jean Muggli Strahan/Instagram

All about Michael Strahan’s twins, Isabella and Sophia Strahan

“Through it all, she was a champion,” says Michael, also a FOX analyst NFL Sunday, who reveals that he has also seen a new side of his twin daughters. (He also has older children from his first marriage: Michael Jr., 30, and Tanita, 33.)

“I always thought Isabella was gentler,” he says. “But she is the toughest of all in the family — tougher than the football player father. And then I saw the other side of Sofia, when it was time for her to be gentle and caring and take care of her sister.”

As Isabella notes, “Sophia was good at making me feel like I was 19.”

Isabella Strahan with her twin sister Sophia.

Isabella Strahan/Youtube

Woman diagnosed with brain cancer while pregnant talks about her mother’s life as she says ‘There aren’t many options left’

Their mom, Jean Muggli, remembers sleeping next to Isabella in the hospital and doing everything she could to distract her. “I try to play cards, watch a movie, anything to distract her from looking at her phone and seeing what everyone else is doing in college freshman year,” he recalls. “I know she wanted to be with her friends, being a student, and yet she was far from that.”

Jean Muggli with her twin daughters in June 2019.

Jean Muggli Strahan/Instagram

More than a year after her diagnosis, Isabella, 20, is back at USC studying communications and conducting informative Zoom conversations with cancer patients (especially younger ones) and their families as part of an independent study project.

Isabella Strahan.

Isabella Strahan

He still has some side effects, including balance problems, vision impairment and memory deficits, but remains vigilant and undergoes check-ups every three months. According to dr. Ashley, “she has more than a 90 percent chance that this tumor will never come back.”

As Isabella says, “It feels like it’s a routine part of my life now. And I definitely see, especially with my vlog, the impact that can come from sharing my experience. I want to be a voice.”

Victoria Will

Find out more about Isabella Strahan and her family in this week’s PEOPLE magazine.

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Source: HIS Education