WASHINGTON — "Good Morning America" host Michael Strahan and his daughter Isabella are sharing details about the 19-year-old's recent brain tumor diagnosis.
The father-daughter duo revealed in a GMA segment Thursday the college student has been battling medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor, for the past two months.
Isabella said she hopes to help others by publicly sharing her health journey.
"I didn't notice anything was off till probably like Oct. 1," the 19-year-old told GMA's Robin Roberts. "That's when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn't walk straight."
At first, Isabella shrugged off the symptoms as vertigo, but it wasn't until Oct. 25, 2023, Isabella's condition took a turn.
"I woke up, probably at like 1 p.m., I dreaded waking up, but I was throwing up blood," Isabella said.
Strahan said that was the moment the family urged her to seek medical attention.
"And thank goodness for the doctor," the GMA host and former NFL star said. "I feel like this doctor saved her life,"
Following an MRI at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, doctors found a 4-centimeter tumor in the back of her brain — larger than the size of a golf ball.
Isabella underwent an emergency surgery to remove the fast-growing tumor on Oct. 27, 2023, a day before her 19th birthday.
"I don't really remember much," Strahan told Roberts. "I just remember trying to figure out how to get to LA ASAP."
Around the same time, the former NFL star was absent from "Good Morning America" in what the network described as a "personal family matter." His absence lasted nearly three weeks.
After her surgery, Isabella underwent rehabilitation and a series of radiation treatment. Her twin sister Sophia even helped her learn to walk again.
"I got to ring the bell yesterday." Isabella said. "It was very exciting because it's been a long 30 sessions."
As for next steps, Isabella said she will begin chemotherapy at Duke University, where her twin sister is a freshman.
"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," she said.
Isabella also launched a YouTube series documenting her health journey Thursday.
"I hope to just kind of be a voice and be a person who people who maybe are going through something similar, going through chemotherapy or radiation, can look at and just hear and just watch, or find something interesting about their day," she told GMA.
What is medulloblastoma?
Medulloblastoma is a type of brain tumor that starts in the lower back part of the brain, according to Mayo Clinic.
This part of the brain controls muscle coordination, balance and movement. Although it can happen at any age, this type of brain tumor is most often found in young children.
Mayo Clinic says that while medulloblastoma is rare, it is the most common cancerous brain tumor in children.
