Isabella Strahan Celebrates Being Officially Cancer-Free
Isabella Strahan Experiences Painful Heart âCrampingâ Following Surgery
Isabella Strahan has reached an exciting chapter in her health journey.
Just over a month after completing her last round of chemotherapy for medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, Michael Strahan’s daughter shared that a follow-up MRI revealed some positive results.
“It was a great, great scan,” Isabella said in a video posted to her YouTube channel July 18. “Everything was clear. Cancer-free. And everything is great.”
To celebrate being rid of the disease, the 19-year-old shared a photo of herselfâclad in jeans, an orange top, a knitted sweater and an L.A. Dodgers baseball hatâsmiling in a grassy field on her Instagram Story July 18.
Furthermore, Isabella explained on YouTube that she’s finally done with her hospital visits and won’t be back to the doctor until October. But while she was thrilled about the news, the moment did feel bittersweet.
“I miss my doctors already and everyone who’s helped,” she added. “Because they’re all so nice. I feel like I’m just saddened today knowing that I wasn’t gonna be going back for a while ’cause I love them so much.”
Just before she was declared cancer-free, the USC student was excited to report that she was able to finally remove her chemotherapy port.
Instagram/Isabella Strahan
“All gone. But the only thing that kind of is very sore is where the actual port was,” Isabella she shared in a July 17 vlog. “It hurts to laugh or kind of move around.”
Luckily, the post-op care to make sure the port spot heals correctly was “not too bad,” according to Isabella.
“The recovery for this seems to be four weeks of not going in water and stuff like that,” she said, “just kind of being careful, and scar care.”
Instagram/Isabella Strahan
During her health struggles, Isabella not only had the support of her fans, but especially her family, with her dad recently praising his daughter’s resilience.
“@isabellastrahan you are a SUPERWOMAN,” Michael wrote in a June 16 Instagram post. “Ringing that bell finishing chemo and on your way. You continue to fight with a smile on your face, strength, and determination. I am one proud Dad! Love you, Bella.”
For more of Isabella’s journey following her diagnosis, keep reading.
Instagram/Isabella Strahan
Brain Cancer Diagnosis
Isabella Strahanâthe daughter of former couple Michael Strahan and Jean Muggliâsaid she “didn’t notice anything was off” about her health until early October 2023, when she started experiencing headaches and nausea.
After throwing up blood one day, she got a full checkup and MRI scan at the urging of her dad. The results showed medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor found in children.
Later that month, she underwent brain surgery to remove the mass.
Instagram / Sophia Strahan
Family Support
Isabella went public with her diagnosis in a January 2024 interview with her dad and ABC News’ Robin Roberts.
“I literally think that in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” Michael noted at the time. “I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle and that she is going to crush this.”
Isabella’s twin sister Sophia Strahan also offered her support. “I’m so lucky to have the most amazing sister and best friend in the world,” she wrote on Instagram. “The last few months have been so much harder than we could have ever imagined, but it’s made me realize just how strong you are”
Instagram/Sophia Strahan
Radiation Therapy
Following her interview, Isabella shared she had finished her round of radiation therapy.
“I’m very excited to finally be done,” she said in a Jan. 16 YouTube video. “It’s been a long six weeks and I’m very happy to finally heal my head after all of this because the side effects and everything get to you.”
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
First Chemotherapy Round
Following radiation therapy, Isabella began undergoing chemotherapy to treat her cancer.
“My whole mouth feels like I got one giant root canal,” she shared in a Feb. 16 vlog. “Every single tooth, just ripped out and not even surgically put back in. My jaw hurts, the bottom of my tongue hurts. It hurts when I gulp water.”Â
Still, the teen kept her spirits up, joking in a video posted a week later that her hair is “insufficient now.”
“Besides being bald,” she said, “it doesn’t bring me pain mentally.”Â
Isabella Strahan/YouTube
Emergency Skull Surgery
Though Isabella was initially scheduled to undergo her second round of chemotherapy in early March, she underwent emergency surgery on her skullâduring which doctors drained out extra fluid from her head and replaced a bone they had originally cut out with a titanium plateâwhich pushed her chemo back by weeks.
“I’m in so much pain,” she said in a March 6 vlog. “My face is extremely puffy, and this sucks. I was in so much pain earlier. I was, like, screaming.”
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
Special Visit
Isabella’s dad Michael arranged for her favorite singer Bryson Tiller to stop by their New York City home as a pick-me-up amid her treatments.
“You haven’t moved this much in months!” Michael joked to his daughter in her vlog of the visit. “You are fangirling right now.”
YouTube
Chemotherapy Round 2
Isabella shared in a March 21 video that she had started her second round of chemotherapy, meaning there was “just four more” rounds to go.
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
New Side Effects
Amid her second chemotherapy round, Isabella said she began experiencing difficulties in walking.
“I literally can’t walk without being lightheaded or out of breath,” she shared in a March 27 vlog, lamenting that there isn’t an “anti-exhaustion medicine” she could take.
YouTube
Good News
The YouTuber had a positive update after finishing her second round of chemotherapy, sharing that she would only have to undergo two more rounds of instead of the originally scheduled four.
“These are happy tears,” she said in a video posted April 10. “It’s not even considering crying when it’s happy tears.”
YouTube
Roadblock in Her Journey
However, Isabella hit a bump in the road in her treatment plan when she had to undergo a third craniotomy. According to the teen, this procedure was unlike anything she had previously experienced.
“Not going to lie, I’ve been crying a lot,” she detailed in an April 12 vlog. “They sunk a needle in three spots and drained fluid, and I was completely awake for this. So, my first completely awake surgery.”
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
