Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella Strahan speaks out bravely.
The 19-year-old college student joined her father to talk about her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a common malignant tumor that arises in the cerebellum, a part of the brain, in Good morning america on Thursday (Oct. 11).
Isabella says she learned of her condition in late October and underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai to remove the mass on October 27, one day before her 19th birthday. She will begin chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina, in February.
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“I feel good. It’s not bad. That’s my next step. I’m ready for it to start and I’m one day closer to finishing. …. I’m very excited for this whole process to be over. But I think we have to keep living each day , throughout the entire process,” he said.
“I literally think that in many ways I am the luckiest man in the world because I have a wonderful daughter. I know she’s going through it, but I know she’s never given more than we can handle and she’s going to crush this,” Michael said.
Michael has four children: two older children, Tanita, 32, and Michael Jr., 29, with his first wife Wanda Hutchins, and Isabella and her twin sister Sophia with his second wife, Jean Muggli.
As for her symptoms, Isabella said she started experiencing things her freshman year at USC in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t notice anything was wrong until probably October 1st. That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea and couldn’t walk straight,” he said, initially thinking it was vertigo.
On October 25, she woke up “vomiting blood” and her family encouraged her to seek immediate medical attention.
“That’s when we decided, ‘You really need to get a full checkup.’ And thank God for the doctor. I feel like this doctor saved her life because she was thorough enough to say, ‘Let’s do a full checkup,’” Michael said.
After an MRI, doctors discovered a rapidly growing 4-centimeter tumor in the back of his brain.
“It didn’t seem real. I really don’t remember much. I just remember trying to figure out how to get to [Los Angeles] As soon as possible,” Michael said, leaving G.M.A. stand by him.
Around 500 children are diagnosed with the disease each year, although Michael said it is “rarely” in someone his age. “It’s still scary because there’s still a lot to do. And the hardest thing to overcome is thinking that she has to go through this herself.”
After her surgery, Isabella underwent several rounds of radiation treatment, as well as a month of rehabilitation. “I had to ring the doorbell yesterday. It was great. It was very exciting because it was 30 long sessions, six weeks,” Isabella told fellow cancer survivor Robin Roberts.
We wish Isabella the best in her continued recovery!
A news star also just revealed a cancer diagnosis on air this week.
Look at the appearance of the father and daughter…
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn