How Isabella Strahan Prioritizes Her Health Nearly 3 Years After Cancer Battle
Isabella Strahan is doing her homework when it comes to her health.
Nearly three years after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, the 21-year-old shared how she's prioritizing her health since undergoing treatment and being declared cancer-free in July 2024.
“I'm doing good. I'm back at school,” Isabella told E! News in an exclusive interview. “For my health, I prioritize being active, working out. I also just prioritize sleep, eating right, drinking a lot of water.”
And while the University of Southern California student has gotten back into the swing of college life, she's still making sure to keep her health in check.
“I actually just had a doctor's appointment yesterday, but it's all just follow-up and checkups just to make sure,” she explained. “I get MRIs about every three months, and that gives me peace of mind.”
And for Isabella—whose parents are Michael Strahan and Jean Muggli—that means taking even the smallest symptoms seriously.
“Now, when I get a headache, when I feel a little nauseous, a little dizzy, I go straight to my computer,” the content creator shared. “I text my nurse practitioner. I'm like, ‘Hi, I just want to be precautious. Can I get a doctor appointment?’”
Katie Flores/WWD via Getty Images
And although Isabella takes her studies seriously, some appointments are more important than attendance.
“A few weeks ago, I just had a headache. I was tired. Felt a little dizzier than usual,” she recalled. “I emailed my professor. I was like, ‘Hi, I know it's literally two hours before class, but I'm going to the doctor.’”
As Isabella emphasized, “Health is number one.”
Isabella Strahan/TikTok
But taking care of herself isn't just about doctor's appointments and healthy habits. For the communications major, it's also meant spending more time with the people she loves—including her mom, dad and twin sister Sophia Strahan.
“Prioritizing those people, you find close in your life, along with your health, is the perfect combination for me now,” she explained. “Of course, I prioritized my family before, but now it's a whole different level of, ‘Oh my gosh, I love you guys, and I'm so appreciative.’”
Instagram / Isabella Strahan
And as Isabella approaches the third anniversary of her brain tumor diagnosis, she's reflecting on just how much her life has changed.
“You don't really think at the age 18, 19, your first year in college, you're going to get cancer necessarily, or even just a really bad sickness and have to uproot your whole life,” she admitted. “But it's really been a blessing because through all this, I've gotten to share my journey and hopefully help some people along the way.”
And helping others is exactly what Isabella hopes to continue doing through her latest partnership with Aflac's Check for Cancer initiative. As part of their Fit Checks campaign, she’s embracing “fashion with purpose” by encouraging people to wear a checkered pattern as a simple reminder to check for cancer.
“Their Check for Cancer movement is encouraging people to go for their checkup screenings, like early, just prioritizing early detection,” the model explained. “Something in my own cancer journey, I wish I maybe had prioritized a little more, but now I'm like super on top of it.”
After initially believing her symptoms were caused by vertigo before her cancer diagnosis, Isabella hopes her experience encourages others to advocate for their health.
As she put it, “Earlier detection and getting that MRI early and taking blood work really can save a life.”
Katie Flores/WWD via Getty Images
And as she looks toward her next chapter, Isabella hopes to continue using her platform to make a difference.
“I'm hoping to accomplish as much advocacy work as possible, working with brands such as Aflac, who really bring initiative to early detection, cancer research and everything like that,” Isabella said. “It's really important for me to hopefully make that a little less scary.”
For more details on Isabella’s cancer battle, read on.
Instagram/Isabella Strahan
Brain Cancer Diagnosis
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.
Instagram / Sophia Strahan
Family Support
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"
Instagram/Sophia Strahan
Radiation Therapy
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 January 2024 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."
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
First Chemotherapy Round
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 February 2024 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."
Isabella Strahan/YouTube
Emergency Skull Surgery
Though Isabella was initially scheduled to undergo her second round of chemotherapy in early March 2024, 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 vlog. "My face is extremely puffy, and this sucks. I was in so much pain earlier. I was, like, screaming."
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
Special Visit
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 2024.
"You haven't moved this much in months!" Michael joked to his daughter in her vlog of the visit. "You are fangirling right now."
YouTube
Chemotherapy Round 2
Isabella shared in a March 2024 video that she had started her second round of chemotherapy, meaning there was "just four more" rounds to go.
YouTube/Isabella Strahan
New Side Effects
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 2024 vlog, lamenting that there isn't an "anti-exhaustion medicine" she could take.
YouTube
Good News
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 in April 2024. "It's not even considering crying when it's happy tears."
YouTube
Roadblock in Her Journey
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 2024 vlog. "They sunk a needle in three spots and drained fluid, and I was completely awake for this. So, my first completely awake surgery."
YouTube
Third Time's the Charm?
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 2024 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."
TikTok / Isabella Strahan
A Crowning Achievement
Isabella picked up her crown to celebrate the end of her chemo treatments. "Just finished chemo," she wrote in a June 2024 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 2024 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."
Instagram/Isabella Strahan
Officially Cancer Free
Isabella was obviously relieved to have a "great, great scan" after finishing her chemotherapy, sharing in a video posted to her YouTube channel July 2024 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."
Michael Strahan / Instagram
Happiest Place on Earth
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 in October 2024.
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.”
Isabella Strahan/TikTok
"The Life I Fought For"
In a September 2024 TikTok video, Isabella shared clips from throughout her cancer journey, including her lying in a hospital bed, relearning how to walk and the aftermath of her freshly shaved head. However, the second half of the video featured snippets of her smiling alongside her Kenneth Cole modeling campaign, enjoying an oceanside hike and going on a run, which she was unable to do while sick.
In addition to the clips, H.E.R.’s song “The Journey” played throughout the TikTok, which says, “Going through hell, but still, you're gonna make it through. It's the fire that they can't put out inside.”
In the caption of the post, Isabella triumphantly wrote, “Living the life I fought for.”
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