Michael Strahan Sits For Emotional ‘GMA’ Interview With His 19-Year-Old Daughter Isabella To Reveal Her Brain Cancer Diagnosis: “It Just Doesn’t Feel Real”

Michael Strahan was joined by his 19-year-old daughter Isabella on Good Morning America for an emotional interview revealing she was recently diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.

Speaking to GMA anchor Robin Roberts, Isabella revealed that she was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in the fall of 2023 after she began experiencing a variety of symptoms. After being rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, she learned she had a “fast-growing, four-centimeter tumor” that was about the size of a golf ball.

“I didn’t notice anything was off ’til probably like Oct. 1,” she explained. “That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight.” She added that she realized it was serious when she began “throwing up blood.”

Michael revealed he received the news before his daughter did. “I don’t really remember much,” he said. “I just remember trying to figure out how to get to L.A. ASAP. And it just doesn’t feel real. It just didn’t feel real.”

At the time, Michael was noticeably missing from his usual hosting duties on Good Morning America and Fox NFL Sundays due to a “personal family matter.”

Isabella swiftly had emergency surgery on the day before her 19th birthday to remove the malignant tumor. She then underwent several rounds of radiation therapy and had to learn how to walk again.

“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, becoming emotional as she expressed how “difficult” the experience has been.

“I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry,” she said as she wiped away her tears. “It’s been two months of keeping it quiet, which is definitely difficult. I don’t want to hide it anymore because it’s hard to always keep in.”

The 19-year-old college student also revealed that she recently finished radiation therapy and is due to start chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in February. Isabella said she plans to begin a YouTube channel documenting her journey in partnership with the hospital.

Michael said the experience has completely changed his perspective on life.

“You think that I’m the athlete, the tough guy,… the father in the family. It is not about any of that. It doesn’t matter. It’s really made me change my perspective on so many things in my life,” he said.

The former NFL player also praised his daughter’s strength throughout this arduous process: “I literally think that in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I have an amazing daughter and I know she’s going through it, but I know we’re never given more than we can handle,” he said.

Scroll up to watch the full interview on Good Morning America.