Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella has been undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor known as medulloblastoma since October 2023. Medulloblastoma is a malignant tumor located in the part of the brain that controls coordination and movement.
On Thursday, shortly after the 19-year-old went public with her diagnosis, her twin sister Sophia posted a series of photos of the pair on Instagram and praised how strong Isabella had been during her difficult health battle.
“I am so lucky to have the most wonderful sister and best friend in the world,” Sophia wrote in the caption of the post. “The last few months have been much harder than we could have ever imagined, but I’ve realized how strong you are. You inspire me and I am so proud of you. We forever 💞”
“The best sister ❤️,” replied Isabella.
Sophia and Isabella Strahan.
Sophia Strahan/Instagram
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Isabella first shared her diagnosis during a segment on Good morning America with his father. She was diagnosed with the condition in October after she began experiencing headaches — which she initially attributed to vertigo — during her freshman year at the University of Southern California.
“I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, I couldn’t walk straight,” the teenager told Robin Roberts. Her condition worsened on October 25, when she woke up “vomiting blood” in the early hours of the morning. The family encouraged her to seek medical help immediately.
Doctors discovered that Isabella had developed a fast-growing 4-centimeter tumor, bigger than a golf ball, in the back of her brain. She underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai to remove the mass on Oct. 27, a day before her 19th birthday.
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Sophia and Isabella Strahan.
Sophia Strahan/Instagram
Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella, 19, reveals brain tumor diagnosis: ‘I just have to keep living each day’
After the operation, Isabella underwent several rounds of radiation, as well as a month of rehabilitation. “I had to ring the bell yesterday,” she told cancer survivor Roberts, 63. “It was great. It was very exciting because it was a long 30 sessions, six weeks.”
Isabella said that Sophia was by her side the whole time and helped her learn to walk again. Now, she’s begun documenting her journey in a new YouTube series to benefit Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
“It’s been two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely hard. I don’t want to hide it anymore because it’s hard to always be secret,” Isabella told GMA. “I hope to be just a voice, and be [someone] who maybe [those who] going through chemotherapy or radiation can look.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education