Michael Strahan reflected on the hardest moments of watching his daughter Isabella’s battle with brain cancer over the last 18 months in an emotional new interview.
The New York Giants hero and co-host of Good Morning America was joined by his daughters, Isabella and twin sister Sophia, to reflect on what his family have been through in a new interview with People.
Isabella had surgery for a brain tumor on her 19th birthday in October 2023 before undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as needing two follow-up surgeries after getting an infection from the initial operation.
Michael Strahan reflected on the hardest moments of watching his daughter Isabella’s battle with brain cancer over the last 18 months in an emotional new interview.
The New York Giants hero and co-host of Good Morning America was joined by his daughters, Isabella and twin sister Sophia, to reflect on what his family have been through in a new interview with People.
Isabella had surgery for a brain tumor on her 19th birthday in October 2023 before undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as needing two follow-up surgeries after getting an infection from the initial operation.
Michael Strahan pictured with daughter Isabella in October 2023, just days before she was told she had a brain tumor
‘She wasn’t eating much. She was thin and tired and bald and all the things you hate to see your kid go through,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how she did it.
‘I was struggling myself with it. I always say that she is a lot stronger than I am.
‘Her spirit was there. One of the things she said, probably the hardest thing I had to hear was, “Dad I’ll do whatever. I want to live.” I normally cry when I tell people that but I am trying to hold it together for you.
Now, Isabella is recovering well and there is a lot more optimism around the family around the what the future holds.
‘Her doctors feel very confident, she’s going to be fine,’ he said. ‘That’s what we’re going to hold on to, but you’re nervous every time.
‘That will never go away but as long as the results come back positive, then we’ll live to fight another day.’
The family are also set to feature on an ABC show on February 5 documenting her recovery from the tumor.
Over the recent holidays, Isabella was in the Caribbean with Sophia and shared pictures on social media celebrating her return to health from the Bahamas.
Strahan said that Isabella is ‘a lot stronger than I am’ as he reflected on her health battle
Strahan spent the holidays in Bahamas with her sister Sophia to celebrate her return to health
‘I was struggling myself with it. I always say that she is a lot stronger than I am.
‘Her spirit was there. One of the things she said, probably the hardest thing I had to hear was, “Dad I’ll do whatever. I want to live.” I normally cry when I tell people that but I am trying to hold it together for you.
Now, Isabella is recovering well and there is a lot more optimism around the family around the what the future holds.
‘Her doctors feel very confident, she’s going to be fine,’ he said. ‘That’s what we’re going to hold on to, but you’re nervous every time.
‘That will never go away but as long as the results come back positive, then we’ll live to fight another day.’
The family are also set to feature on an ABC show on February 5 documenting her recovery from the tumor.
Over the recent holidays, Isabella was in the Caribbean with Sophia and shared pictures on social media celebrating her return to health from the Bahamas.
Strahan said that Isabella is ‘a lot stronger than I am’ as he reflected on her health battle
Strahan spent the holidays in Bahamas with her sister Sophia to celebrate her return to health
Her famous father Michael spent his entire NFL career in New York with the Giants and won the Super Bowl in 2008 against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
In November, he sparked outrage when he didn’t place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem when the Fox Sports team presented their show from a naval air base ahead of Veterans Day.
He was the only man in the line-up not to place his hand over his heart – and quickly drew criticism from viewers, some of whom called it ‘cowardly’ and ‘disrespectful’.
When he was then later asked about the incident by DailyMail.Com, he threw the reporter’s cell phone to the ground.
