Why Isabella Strahan Doesn’t Live in Fear After Brain Cancer Journey

Isabella Strahan—the daughter of former couple Michael Strahan and Jean Muggli—said 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.

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"

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."

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." 

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." 

Though Isabella was initially scheduled to undergo her second round of chemotherapy in early March, she underwent emergency surgery on her skull—during which doctors drained out extra fluid from her head and replaced a bone they had originally cut out with a titanium plate—which 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."

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 in March.

"You haven't moved this much in months!" Michael joked to his daughter in her vlog of the visit. "You are fangirling right now."

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.

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.

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."

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."

Not so much. Detailing the results of her third round of chemotheraphy, Isabella revealed her appetite was nonexistant. "Last week, it just dropped to zero," Isabella said in a May 21 video. "So, it's annoying."

And though she was struggling with memory loss as well, she was able to dig into the bright side of the experience. "Tomorrow is really my last day of chemo," Isabella noted, "and then it's my last cycle, and then I'm done. It's insane."

Isabella picked up her crown to celebrate the end of her chemo treatments. "Just finished chemo," she wrote in a June 8 TikTok video, which she captioned, "Did it."

The timing meant the University of Southern California student—who celebrated by ringing the bell after walking through a confetti parade—could have a bit of a summer break. 

"I'm so happy cause I thought I'd be done at the end of July," she explained. "I was supposed to do six rounds in total. And then I really would just have to go straight back to school. I'm so happy."

Sharing that she had her chemo port removed in a July 17 YouTube vlog, she acknowledged the area was still a bit sore. However, she reasoned, "The recovery for this seems to be four weeks of not going in water and stuff like that, just kind of being careful, and scar care. So not too bad." 

Isabella was obviously relieved to have a "great, great scan" after finishing her chemotherapy, sharing in a video posted to her YouTube channel July 18 that "everything was clear. Cancer-free. And everything is great."

Still, she acknowledged, "I miss my doctors already and everyone who's helped. 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."

Now that she was officially cancer-free, what else could Isabella do except go to Disneyland? Her Super Bowl-winning dad joined her and twin sis Sophia to mark their joint 20th birthday a few days early on Oct. 26. 

The college student also celebrated another key milestone. 

“365 days since my life changed tremendously,” she captioned a shot of herself in a cap, gown, and mask, lying in a hospital bed on her Instagram Story. Adding another pic of all the balloons and flowers she received, she added, “Thankful for the progress I’ve made.”