Isabella Strahan is officially cancer-free.
The 19-year-old daughter of “Good Morning America” co-host Michael Strahan has been sharing her health journey on YouTube since being diagnosed with a rare type of brain tumor last year, and in an update Thursday, titled “Goodbye Hospital,” Strahan said her latest MRI scans looked “great.”
“Everything was clear. Cancer-free,” Isabella said. “Everything is great. I don’t have another doctor’s appointment until October.”
The video came just after the student and model had her chemotherapy port surgically removed, and though the exciting news is a step in a positive direction health-wise, Isabella said it was bittersweet because she’s leaving her team at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Just last month, the hospital staffers cheered Isabella on alongside loved ones as she rang the bell following her final chemotherapy treatment.
“I miss my doctors already and everyone who has helped me because they’re all so nice,” she said. “I feel like I’m just saddened today knowing that I wasn’t going to be going back for a while ’cause I love them so much.”
Isabella was just starting off her first year at the University of Southern California when she noticed “something was off” in early October 2023, she revealed on her dad’s show. She began experiencing headaches, nausea and couldn’t walk straight, then sought medical attention later that month.
Doctors discovered Isabella had a fast-growing tumor larger than a golf ball developing in the back of her brain, and she was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, which carries the symptoms Isabella was feeling.
The form of cancerous brain tumor develops in the cerebellum, the lower back part of the brain involved in muscle coordination, balance and movement, according to Mayo Clinic. Treatment usually includes surgery, then radiation, chemotherapy or both, the Mayo Clinic says.
Isabella had surgery to remove her tumor on Oct. 27, the day before her 19th birthday, at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai. She then underwent a month of rehabilitation and six weeks of radiation, the teen told “Good Morning America.”
Isabella began chemotherapy in February at the same hospital where she rang the bell.
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Although they’re rare and can happen at any age, medulloblastomas most often occur in children and are the most common cancerous brain tumor for the age group.
Of the more than 435 patients diagnosed with the tumor each year, more than 70% are pediatric, The Cure Starts Now Cancer Resource Network says. This makes Isabella’s case a rarity, with a reported incidence in adulthood being 0.05 cases per 100,000 population, according to the Network.
The group also reports the five-year survival rate is approximately 80%, though the number can vary based on age, spread, recurrence and subtype. Cedars-Sinai says MRI scans are performed multiple times each year to watch for recurrence.
In her latest video, Isabella said she won’t be back at the doctor’s office until October, but although there won’t be another health vlog until then, she said viewers should watch out for a potential video documenting her move back into college.
