Yahoo Lifestyle Isabella Strahan on Cancer Diagnosis: 'Should've Known Something Was Wrong Earlier'
Isabella Strahan is reflecting on her whirlwind cancer journey, from her medulloblastoma diagnosis just days before her 19th birthday back in October 2023 to officially entering remission in the summer of 2024.
In a sneak peek shared by Good Morning America ahead of the airing of the ABC special Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer, Robin Roberts asked the college student what she learned about herself during her cancer journey—which included three craniotomies, or brain surgeries—with Strahan placing an emphasis on advocating for oneself.
“…you should advocate for yourself,” she said immediately. “I think the whole journey has taught me that.”
“It should’ve been different,” she explained. “I think I should have known something was wrong earlier, and I think it’s always important to trust yourself and trust your body."
She added, "I think that’s something I’ve taken into account, is always staying positive but always really knowing in your mind if something is wrong.”
When Strahan first revealed her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, which is a malignant brain tumor primarily found in children much younger than her, she detailed the brief illness that led to her diagnosis, which began barely a month before they discovered the fast-growing tumor larger than a golf ball in the back of her brain.
"I didn't notice anything was off till probably like Oct. 1," she told Roberts in a previous interview. "That's when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn't walk straight."
She chalked the symptoms up as vertigo, though, until she woke up throwing up blood on Oct. 25. Thankfully, the doctor she visited for a checkup insisted on a complete workup, which they say "saved her life."
Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer airs tonight, Feb. 5, at 10/9c on ABC and will be streaming on Hulu.
Next: Michael Strahan Reveals 'Hardest Thing' He Had to Hear During Daughter Isabella's Cancer 'Fight'
