Michael Strahan announces daughter was diagnosed with brain tumor

Michael Strahan, the co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and former NFL star, shared the news that his 19-year-old daughter Isabella is fighting a malignant brain tumor called medulloblastoma.

He and his daughter opened up about her diagnosis and treatment in an emotional interview with Robin Roberts on Thursday.

Isabella Strahan said she first noticed symptoms of her brain tumor in early October, when she started experiencing headaches, nausea, and difficulty walking. She initially thought she had vertigo, but her condition worsened on Oct. 25, when she woke up vomiting blood. She went to see a doctor, who ordered a full checkup and an MRI. The scan revealed a 4-centimeter tumor in the back of her brain, larger than a golf ball.

She underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, a day before her 19th birthday, to remove the tumor. She said the surgery was successful, but she still has to undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy to prevent the tumor from coming back. She will start her chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina, next month.

“I’m feeling good. Not too bad,” she said. “I’m ready for it to start and be one day closer to being over. … I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap. But you just have to keep living every day, I think, through the whole thing.”

Michael Strahan said he was shocked and devastated when he learned about his daughter’s diagnosis, but he also expressed his admiration and support for her. “I literally think that, in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world, because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” he said. “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.”

He also thanked his fellow co-anchor, Robin Roberts, who is a cancer survivor herself, for her guidance and encouragement. He said he was grateful for the doctors, nurses, and staff who have been taking care of his daughter, as well as for the love and prayers from his family, friends, and fans.

Isabella Strahan is one of Michael Strahan’s four children. He has two older children, Tanita and Michael Jr., with his first wife Wanda Hutchins, and a twin sister, Sophia, with his second wife, Jean Muggli.