Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella, 19, froze her eggs following brain cancer diagnosis: ‘That was not fun’
Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella revealed she froze her eggs following her brain cancer diagnosis.
“Since chemo and radiation can affect my fertility, my first step was egg freezing,” the 19-year-old explained in a video posted to her YouTube channel Friday.
“That was not fun for me. At all,” she continued while sitting alongside her twin sister, Sophia, and her dad’s girlfriend, Kayla Quick.
Quick, 33, chimed in that Isabella “hated” the hormone shots that are administered ahead of the procedure.
“I am not a big needle person,” the teenager continued. “I’ve gotten used to my blood and IVs, but shots? That was rough.”
Isabella explained she had to get three shots in her abdomen every day for about a week and it “hurt so bad.”
She then went under for the surgery, which happened to fall on Thanksgiving 2023.
During an emotional “Good Morning America” segment with Strahan, 52, on Thursday, the model revealed she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in October.
At the time, she had just started her freshman year at the University of Southern California when she started experiencing bizarre symptoms.
“I didn’t notice anything was off ’til probably like Oct. 1,” she recalled. “That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight.”
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It wasn’t until weeks later when Isabella started “throwing up blood” that she knew something wasn’t right.
“So I texted [my sister], who then notified the whole family,” the college student continued.
Eventually, Isabella found herself at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after her MRI scan showed she had a “fast-growing, 4-centimeter tumor.”
She then had to undergo emergency surgery to remove the mass, which was larger than a golf ball.
Meanwhile, the “Good Morning America” co-host recalled being in New York when he found out about his daughter’s tumor.
“I don’t really remember much,” Strahan explained on “GMA” Thursday. “I just remember trying to figure out how to get to LA ASAP. And it just doesn’t feel real. It just didn’t feel real.”
After the procedure, Isabella underwent 30 days of rehabilitation as she learned how to walk again and started radiation therapy.
Most recently, she got to “ring the bell” at the hospital after completing 30 sessions of the treatment over the span of six weeks.
“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 on the morning show.
“I’m ready for it to start and be one day closer to being over,” she added.
Isabella remained optimistic as she explained she was “feeling good” despite the side effects of her treatment.
In her first vlog posted to her channel Wednesday, Isabella walked her supporters through her last few months.
She shared a deeper look into her cancer journey with photos and videos of each major step while at the hospital.
The next major leap for her will be to relocate to Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, NC., to start chemotherapy.
