How Isabella Strahan Celebrated the End of Chemotherapy
Originally appeared on E! Online
Isabella Strahan is ringing in a major milestone.
After all, Michael Strahan's 19-year-old daughter finished her last round of chemotherapy June 8, and she did not hold back when it came to documenting her celebrations.
"I'm excited—last bag of chemo today," she shared in a June 14 YouTube vlog. "And then I have a little confetti parade and I'll ring the bell. Long journey, but we made it."
In the video, Isabella was filmed walking through a tunnel of nurses, friends and family as they threw confetti in celebration of her medical milestone. After her moment, she hugged her father, as well as her mother Jean Muggli and her twin sister Sophia Strahan.
"My confetti parade was really fun," Isabella noted in the middle of her video. "I love all my nurses. It's a great day."
Afterward, Isabella headed over to another part of the hospital to ring the bell. The ringing of the bell, which is a tradition for cancer patients as well as reciting a poem that goes along with it, signifies the end of treatment, and, of course, the cause for celebration.
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"Ring this bell, three times well," Isabella, who donned a gold paper grown, sang. "It's toll will clearly say, my treatment's done. This course is run. And I am on my way!"
And of course, Isabella had to finish off her celebrations by filming herself and her sister dancing to Bryson Tiller—her favorite artist whom she previously met thanks to her dad. As she noted in the video, "Go Bryson Tiller!"
The Strahan family finished their celebrations at Waffle House, where Isabella, who wore a black Lululemon ensemble, appeared to be in her element as she filmed her hashbrowns, eggs and bacon meal.
The University of Southern California student has been detailing her battle with medulloblastoma, which she was diagnosed with in October, since sharing her health battle publicly in January. In April, she opened up about her chemotherapy treatment ending earlier than anticipated as she opted for a new treatment plan that only required four rounds of chemo.
"I'm so happy cause I thought I'd be done at the end of July," she gushed in an April 10 video. "I was supposed to do six rounds in total. And then I really would just have to go straight back to school. I can kind of try and have a summer to feel better."
Keep reading to see Isabella's full health journey.
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.
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"
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 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."
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 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."
Emergency Skull Surgery
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."
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.
"You haven't moved this much in months!" Michael joked to his daughter in her vlog of the visit. "You are fangirling right now."
Chemotherapy Round 2
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.
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 27 vlog, lamenting that there isn't an "anti-exhaustion medicine" she could take.
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 April 10. "It's not even considering crying when it's happy tears."
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 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."
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