Michael Strahan's Daughter Isabella Has Unexpected Third Brain Surgery, Chemo Is Delayed
After receiving joyful news, Isabella Strahan has hit another setback as she continues to battle medulloblastoma, a tumor that starts in the back part of the brain. On Friday, the 19-year-old daughter of Michael Strahan uploaded a new YouTube vlog, in which she revealed that she contracted a fever while recovering from her second round of chemotherapy, and was eventually told she needed a third craniotomy, just a month after her second.
As Isabella previously explained, she has to go to the hospital anytime she gets a fever of 100.4. In the new video, the University of Southern California undergrad shares that she got her chemotherapy port accessed, got MRIs and CT scans, and got an IV inserted -- the latter of which led her to cry.
"So they did a little procedure. I've had this one before. They stuck a needle in three spots and drain fluid and I was completely awake for this. My first completely awake surgery," she later shared.
Isabella admitted that the pain was still difficult to manage after the surgery. "It's not as bad as the first time but I'm really in pain. They do give me pain medicine...they don't work that well on me. So I'm in a lot of pain," she confessed, before bursting into tears. "My head really, really hurts right now. Not gonna lie, I've been crying a lot. I'm in a lot of pain. It's not as bad as last time... my face isn't as puffy but it literally hurts to do anything."
Michael Strahan’s Daughter Isabella Recently Hospitalized Amid Brain Tumor Battle
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Michael Strahan’s Daughter Isabella Recently Hospitalized Amid Brain Tumor Battle
Isabella added that she can barely move without pain because she has two IVs, a picc line, and her chemotherapy port, which all allow doctors to administer her medications.
"I haven't really eaten much in the past three or four days, kind of nothing. It's really bad but I just can't really eat and I'm also not hungry," she added. "There's ups and downs to this because I was eating so much a week ago and now I can't eat anything. I'm in a down right now."
Although Isabella was soon discharged, she was back in the hospital a week later due to "shortness of breath."
At the end of the video, the aspiring model explained that she had her third craniotomy -- the second of "just draining fluid" -- and although she was feeling "a lot better," it still meant her next round of chemotherapy would be pushed back a month.
The news is especially disappointing since Isabella was recently told her chemotherapy treatments had been reduced from six to four, allowing her to be done in May instead of July.
"Yes, I only have to do two rounds of chemo, but it's still gonna be three months," Isabella said. "So I wasn't very happy about that. I was just bawling my eyes out because it's just so disappointing when you're like, 'Yes! I can finish by May!' And then everything changes because of a stupid head infection."
"So now I'll be done a little later than I wanted to, but oh well," she said.
As Isabella explained in her vlog shared on Wednesday, finishing her chemotherapy rounds earlier would allow her more time to recover before heading back to USC in the fall.
The student first began suffering symptoms in early October -- a month into her freshman year at USC in Los Angeles. After testing, doctors discovered she had developed a fast-growing 4-centimeter tumor, larger than a golf ball, in the back of her brain, which was diagnosed as medulloblastoma. She underwent surgery to have the mass removed that same month, just one day before her 19th birthday.
Isabella then launched her YouTube series to document her cancer treatment journey, from the setbacks to the pleasant surprises.
Watch Isabella Strahan's latest vlog in full below.
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