Michael Strahan, daughter Isabella give update on her cancer journey

Michael Strahan is reflecting on his daughter Isabella’s cancer journey.

In early 2024, the 53-year-old’s daughter, then 19, was battling medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

“She wasn’t eating much,” Strahan recalled to People on Wednesday. “She was thin and tired and bald and all the things you hate to see your kid go through.”

But, as he noted, “Her spirit was there. One of the things she said, probably the hardest thing I had to hear was, ‘Dad I’ll do whatever. I want to live.’”

“I knew she wouldn’t quit,” the “Good Morning America” co-host continued. “She was going to fight — and she did.”

Isabella, whose mom is Strahan’s ex-wife Jean Muggli, underwent several rounds of radiation, chemotherapy and multiple surgeries. Now at 20, she is cancer-free.

Strahan touched on Isabella’s resilience, adding that despite him being a Pro Football Hall of Famer, “I always say she’s a lot stronger than I am.”

Isabella first experienced symptoms in fall 2023 as a college freshman at the University of Southern California. She started having nausea, dizziness and debilitating headaches and confided in her twin sister, Sophia, who was then a freshman at Duke University.

“I was the one who told our parents first,” recalled Sophia, “because Isabella called and said she was throwing up blood.”

After convincing Isabella to go to the ER, Strahan and Muggli met her there. Doctors found Isabella had a fast-growing tumor in her cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and coordination.

“They said no need for a second opinion. We should just go in,” Strahan recalled.

She underwent brain surgery to remove the 4-centimeter tumor the next day, which was also her 19th birthday. According to Dr. David Ashley, a neuro-oncologist who oversaw her care at Duke Children’s Hospital in North Carolina, “It was somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball.”

“My mom would sleep in the hospital with me,” Isabella recounted, with Muggli adding, “Isabella’s strength and resilience was the same as it was when she was a little girl. The way she handled every day with grace was amazing.”

Isabella documented her journey on YouTube, hoping to connect with other cancer survivors. She donated the YouTube proceeds to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, where she received care at Duke University. 

These days, Isabella is back at college majoring in communications. 

“Her doctors feel very confident, she’s going to be fine,” Strahan told the outlet. “That’s what we’re going to hold on to, but you’re nervous every time. That will never go away but as long as the results come back positive, then we’ll live to fight another day.”

Moving forward, she will continue to have scans every three months for the next two or three years and then every six months to a year after that. 

“Obviously you can’t predict what will happen and that’s a little scary,” Isabella expressed. “But I don’t think you can solely live in fear. I think I should live every day. Take every opportunity. I see the impact that can come from sharing my experience. I want to be a voice.”