Michael Strahan's 19-year-old daughter Isabella is bravely battling brain cancer.
The father-daughter duo revealed her heartbreaking diagnosis during a Good Morning America interview, which aired on Thursday, January 11.
Michael — who has been co-hosting the morning talk show since 2016 — recalled receiving "a call" no parent ever wants to receive, as he was informed his teenager has brain cancer.
The show transitioned into an interview with the former New York Giants star and Isabella herself, who opened up about learning she had a malignant brain tumor, known as medulloblastoma, in October 2023.
Signs and symptoms leading to the diagnosis began about one month prior, just as she'd been starting her freshman year of college at the University of Southern California.
"I didn’t notice anything was off ’til probably like October 1," Isabella explained to her dad's co-host Robin Roberts. "That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight."
Weeks later, the famous offspring was frightened after she was awoken from her sleep to find herself "throwing up blood."
"I was like, 'Hm, this probably isn’t good.' So I texted [my sister], who then notified the whole family," Isabella detailed.
The college student then underwent numerous tests, including an MRI, before she was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles — where doctors found a "fast-growing, four-centimeter tumor" that had already grown to be larger than a golf ball.
Michael admitted he was notified of the horrific news before his daughter could find out for herself.
"I don’t really remember much," the 52-year-old expressed of the traumatic experience. "I just remember trying to figure out how to get to L.A. ASAP. And it just doesn’t feel real. It just didn’t feel real."
The interview explained medulloblastoma accounts for roughly 20 percent of all childhood brain tumors, with an estimated 500 children diagnosed, however, Michael noted, "but rarely someone who’s 18, 19 years old."
"It's still scary because it’s still so much to go through. And the hardest thing to get over is to think that she has to go through this herself," he explained.
One day before her 19th birthday, the young adult had emergency surgery to remove the tumor. As part of her recovery, Isabella had to relearn to walk with the help of her twin sister, Sophia, underwent radiation therapy and participated in 30 days of rehabilitation.
"So I just finished radiation therapy, which is proton radiation, and I got to ring the bell yesterday," Isabella revealed. "It was great. It was very exciting because it’s been a long 30 sessions, six weeks."
While she still feels some side effects from the intense treatments, the college student confirmed she's "feeling good" and looking forward to resuming her everyday life.
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"I’m very excited for this whole process to wrap. But you just have to keep living every day, I think, through the whole thing," she said.
For now, Isabella is relocating to Durham, N.C., where she will begin chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center.
"That’s my next step. I’m ready for it to start and be one day closer to being over," she shared.
Reflecting on the difficult health battle, Michael — who shares Isabella and Sophia his ex-wife Jean Muggli — stated: "You think that I’m the athlete, the tough guy, you know, I can come and handle, I’m the father in the family. It is not about any of that. It doesn’t matter."
Despite hardship, Isabella declared she's "grateful."
Michael also shares his daughter Tanita, 32, and son, Michael Jr., 29, with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins.
