Michael Strahan’s daughter reveals ‘rough’ procedure for ‘fertility preservation’ after brain tumor diagnosis

Following her brain cancer tumor diagnosis, Michael Strahan’s daughter, Isabella, went through a “rough procedure” to freeze her eggs.

After talking with her doctor, the 19-year-old decided to have her eggs harvested for the sake of “fertility preservation” ahead of radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Isabella spoke about the difficult and painful nature of the procedure in a new vlog on her YouTube channel this week.

The video documenting her journey arrived soon after she and her dad appeared side-by-side on Good Morning America as Isabella shared her emotional story with Robin Roberts and viewers.

The University of Southern California freshman talked about suffering from headaches with progressively worsening symptoms, leading to multiple tests and a diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a rare form of cancer.

That ultimately resulted in her needing emergency surgery to remove the fast-growing tumor from her brain. Ahead of beginning radiation therapy or chemotherapy, she had to go through a procedure to freeze her eggs.

During Friday’s GMA segment featuring a discussion of the procedure, Isabella said, “It was tough” and “you don’t expect” to be going through it at her age.

Isabella Strahan discusses the ‘rough procedure’ she underwent for having eggs frozen

“That was not fun for me. At all,” Isabella said in her January 12 vlog about her procedure.

Isabella is one of Michael Strahan’s children that he shares with his second wife, Jean Muggli. Isabella appeared with her twin sister, Sophia, her dad, and his girlfriend, Kayla Quick, in parts of the YouTube video (below).

According to Quick, Isabella “hated” getting the required hormone shots that they gave her before the procedure.

Isabella claimed she’s “not a big needle person” and that while she was used to getting blood drawn or IVs, getting those shots was “rough.”

“Basically doing that, it was three shots in my stomach. Hurt so bad,” she said.

“That was every day for what a week?” Isabella asked Quick, who replied, “Yeah, a little bit longer than a week.”

She said following that, there was a procedure that she doesn’t remember due to being put under anesthesia. Quick mentioned it was on Thanksgiving Day in Columbus Circle, “which is where the parade goes.”

“It was like a CIA operation getting there,” Quick added.

Quick said that once that was over, Isabella came home and slept “six or seven hours” before she got up, and the family had a “big Thanksgiving.”

Isabella said that from then until her first week of radiation, it was a “good time” for her.

“I still had hair. I love that,” she said, mentioning that she eventually shaved her head bald as she began losing hair during radiation therapy.

She called it “an adjustment” but seems to be embracing the new look ahead of her next part of the journey.

Isabella to undergo chemotherapy at Duke

Following Isabella’s initial surgery to remove her tumor, she began treatment at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.

Per ABC 11, the facility bears the name of successful businessman and philanthropist Preston Robert Tisch. His family donated $10 million to Duke while he was undergoing treatment at the facility.

Tisch is formerly a co-owner of the New York Giants, the team Michael Strahan spent his entire NFL career with.

The next part of Isabella’s treatment will involve chemotherapy at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center. Her vlog documenting her journey is in conjunction with the provider to help educate and enlighten others.

Her second installment of the vlog, Rehabbing from Brain Surgery, has reached over 8,200 views as of this report. The video description indicates, “All proceeds will go towards The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.”