The daughter of âGood Morning Americaâ (GMA) co-anchor Michael Strahan Isabella revealed she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
In an interview with ABC News, Isabella Strahan, 19, accompanied by her father, opened up about her two-month private battle with medulloblastoma and revealed what led to her diagnosis in late October shortly after starting college.
âI didnât notice anything was off till probably September, like Oct. 1,â she told âGood Morning Americaâ anchor Robin Roberts. âThatâs when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldnât walk straight.â
After doing her research, she said she attributed her symptoms to vertigo because she âassociated that with walking straight.â
On Oct. 25, her condition worsened. She explained that she woke up in the afternoon and was âthrowing up blood.â This led her to text her twin sister, Sophia, expressing her concern. Thatâs when her sister informed the whole Family.
âThat was when we decided, âYou need to really go get a thorough checkup,'â the former New York Giants football player shared. âAnd thank goodness for the doctor.â
He added, âI feel like this doctor saved her life because she was thorough enough to say, âLetâs do the full checkup.'â
Additionally, Isabella Strahan shared what happened during her appointment.
âShe did an , there for my heart and like, other stuff, but she didnât have an MRI machine, so I went to somewhere else. And then she calls me and sheâs like, âYou need to head to Cedars-Sinai right now. Iâm gonna meet you there,'â she recalled.
According to ABC News, doctors informed her that she âhad developed a fast-growing 4-centimeter tumor, larger than a golf ball, in the back of her brain.â
âMedulloblastoma is the most common type of cancerous brain tumor in children,â per Mayo Clinic.
According to John Hopkins Medicine, the pediatric brain tumor commonly affects children between the ages of 5 to 9.
Speaking on his daughterâs Health crisis, Michael Strahan said he didnât âreally remember much. I just remember trying to figure out how to get to LA ASAP. And it just doesnât feel real.â
On Oct. 27, the day before her 19th birthday, Isabella Strahan underwent emergency surgery at Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles to remove the mass.
âShe was heavily medicated, as you could imagine,â Michael Strahan said of his daughterâs recovery. âBut she would have conversations.â
He continued, âShe had a lot of her friends and they would come over just to sit with her. And there were times when she was in a lot of pain. She was sleeping a lot.â
During the interview, Isabella Strahan revealed she recently finished six weeks of radiation therapy which caused her to experience hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness.
Speaking about her next steps, she shared that she will begin chemotherapy treatment at Duke Childrenâs Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina.
âIâm ready for it to start and be one day closer to being over,â she said.Â