A MOMENT OF COLLAPSE: Michael Strahan of GMA Breaks Down Live while speaking about his Daughter’s Cancer Battle – Viewers Overwhelmed with Emotion

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.

Isabella, an aspiring model, was rushed in for surgery in California on a tumor the size of a golf ball after suffering excruciating headaches and later began vomiting blood.

‘I knew she wouldn’t quit,’ Strahan said. ‘She was going to fight – and she did.’

But Strahan said that seeing his daughter struggling so much with the impact of her treatment was heartbreaking.

+7
View gallery

Michael Strahan pictured with daughter Isabella in October 2023, just days before she was told she had a brain tumor

Isabella Strahan celebrates completing her chemotherapy

‘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.

+7
View gallery

Strahan said that Isabella is ‘a lot stronger than I am’ as he reflected on her health battle

+7
View gallery

Strahan spent the holidays in Bahamas with her sister Sophia to celebrate her return to health

Michael Strahan’s daughters Isabella and Sophia don bikinis

‘And we’re back…’ Isabella poignantly captioned the images on social media in late December.

‘My first round of chemo experience was one of the worst things I’ve done ever in my entire life,’ she said on her YouTube channel. ‘It just felt weird getting chemo. I don’t know, you don’t really think you’re gonna get poison put through your body.’

She eventually finished the course of treatment in June and rang the bell to signal she was done.

‘You are a SUPERWOMAN,” Michael wrote on Instagram after his daughter completed her treatment.

‘Ringing that bell finishing chemo and on your way. You continue to fight with a smile on your face, strength, and determination. I am one proud Dad! Love you, Bella.’

In an interview with Town and Country magazine in October, Isabella reflected on her year of treatment and said: ‘I’m happy to be here. I think this year has made me stronger.

‘The people in your life are what makes it enjoyable. Now I don’t say no to anything. I don’t think, I’ll do it next week. You don’t know what next week will look like.’

+7
View gallery

Isabella documented her battle and recovery from cancer across her YouTube channel

Michael Strahan celebrates daughter Isabella’s final chemo treatment

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.