Michael Strahan Calls Daughter Isabella a ‘Survivor and a Thriver’ During Emotional Preview of Her Cancer Documentary

Michael Strahan praised his daughter Isabella as a “survivor, and a thriver,” in an emotional moment during Good Morning America’s premiere of the trailer for Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer, the upcoming primetime special about the college student’s fight against brain cancer.

Following the trailer, co-host Robin Roberts — who is in remission from breast cancer after her 2007 diagnosis — reached out to Strahan, supportively squeezing his arm.

“That was a rough start. It got happier at the end for me, but it’s hard to relive it,” Strahan, 53, said following the debut of the trailer — which delves into Isabella’s diagnosis and at-times rocky treatment — on the Jan. 29 episode.

“You don’t really think the worst until you told the worst,” a tearful Isabella says in the trailer. Isabella, now 20, had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, and on October 28, 2023 — her 19th birthday — she underwent emergency surgery to remove a golf-ball-sized brain tumor located at the base of her skull.

What followed was six weeks of radiation, four rounds of chemotherapy and three brain surgeries — and she documented her entire health journey on her YouTube series. She rang the bell to signal the end of her treatment last June.

Now cancer-free, Isabella is back at college at the University of Southern California.

When co-host Lara Spencer praised the family for sharing their journey, Strahan put the focus back on his daughter, saying, “She’s the one who’s been open. She’s been amazing and I think it’s helped a lot of people.”

Turning to co-host Roberts, Strahan held her arm and said, “As you said and always say, make a mess a message, and she’s done that and she’s a survivor and a thriver.”

Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer premieres Feb. 5 on ABC at 10/9c and streaming platform Hulu.

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