Isabella Strahan shared how she is embracing her appearance as her hair grows back after cancer treatment: “I learned that my beauty, it’s not about my hair.”
Isabella Strahan is celebrating new growth in many ways.
A year after she was declared cancer-free, the 21-year-old shared how her naturally curly, auburn hair changed since it returned post chemotherapy.
“When it first started growing back, it was like pin straight and black,” Isabella, who now sports an afro, told People in an interview published Oct. 30. “I was like, oh my gosh, chemo changed my texture and color. But now it feels curlier and it’s getting back to looking lighter.”
After her battle with brain cancer, she has learned to appreciate so many aspects of her life, including her hair, which she admittedly took for granted.
“Pre-cancer diagnosis, I would always kind of equate my beauty with my hair because I would get so many compliments,” she shared. “People would always comment on the color, the length, the texture. So, when I didn’t have it, I was like, ‘Oh no. I’m never gonna be pretty again.’”
“Sometimes I’m like, ugh I really took advantage of my hair,” Isabella continued. “I was doing slick backs for a few days, oil in my hair, just kinda lazy about it because I was like, ‘I’m always gonna have hair’… And then I didn’t have any hair.”
Now, she’s on a journey to love and learn about her new locks.
“I just want to protect this hair really well,” Michael Strahan‘s daughter added. “So I’m really just using good things for my hair that I feel like really represent me, making sure it’s moisturized and not gonna break off because I don’t want my hair to fall out again. That was traumatic.”
“It’s just a journey and a process kind of learning my hair,” Isabella, who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma during her freshman year of college in 2023, continued. “But as it’s growing back and I’m feeling more like myself, I learned that my beauty, it’s not about my hair. It’s really about just feeling confident. It’s how you feel yourself and where you’re at.”
And she is certainly feeling herself. For her and twin sister Sophia Strahan‘s recent birthday party, Isabella was flaunting her new hairstyle, smiling big as she blew out the candles on her cake.
As Sophia commented on her sister’s Oct. 28 Instagram post, “U look pretty.”
Read on to see how far Isabella has come on her journey below.
Brain Cancer Diagnosis
Isabella Strahan—the daughter of former couple Michael Strahan and Jean Muggli—said she “didn’t notice anything was off” about her health until early October 2023, when she started experiencing headaches and nausea.
After throwing up blood one day, she got a full checkup and MRI scan at the urging of her dad. The results showed medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor found in children.
Later that month, she underwent brain surgery to remove the mass.
Family Support
Isabella went public with her diagnosis in a January 2024 interview with her dad and ABC News’ Robin Roberts.
“I literally think that in a lot of ways, I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’ve got an amazing daughter,” Michael noted at the time. “I know she’s going through it, but I know that we’re never given more than we can handle and that she is going to crush this.”
Isabella’s twin sister Sophia Strahan also offered her support. “I’m so lucky to have the most amazing sister and best friend in the world,” she wrote on Instagram. “The last few months have been so much harder than we could have ever imagined, but it’s made me realize just how strong you are”
Radiation Therapy
Following her interview, Isabella shared she had finished her round of radiation therapy.
“I’m very excited to finally be done,” she said in a January 2024 YouTube video. “It’s been a long six weeks and I’m very happy to finally heal my head after all of this because the side effects and everything get to you.”
First Chemotherapy Round
Following radiation therapy, Isabella began undergoing chemotherapy to treat her cancer.
Still, the teen kept her spirits up, joking in a video posted a week later that her hair is “insufficient now.”
“Besides being bald,” she said, “it doesn’t bring me pain mentally.”
Emergency Skull Surgery
Though Isabella was initially scheduled to undergo her second round of chemotherapy in early March 2024, she underwent emergency surgery on her skull—during which doctors drained out extra fluid from her head and replaced a bone they had originally cut out with a titanium plate—which pushed her chemo back by weeks.
Special Visit
Isabella’s dad Michael arranged for her favorite singer Bryson Tiller to stop by their New York City home as a pick-me-up amid her treatments in March 2024.
Chemotherapy Round 2
Isabella shared in a March 2024 video that she had started her second round of chemotherapy, meaning there was “just four more” rounds to go.
New Side Effects
Amid her second chemotherapy round, Isabella said she began experiencing difficulties in walking.
Good News
The YouTuber had a positive update after finishing her second round of chemotherapy, sharing that she would only have to undergo two more rounds of instead of the originally scheduled four.
“These are happy tears,” she said in a video posted in April 2024. “It’s not even considering crying when it’s happy tears.”
Roadblock in Her Journey
However, Isabella hit a bump in the road in her treatment plan when she had to undergo a third craniotomy. According to the teen, this procedure was unlike anything she had previously experienced.
Third Time’s the Charm?
Not so much. Detailing the results of her third round of chemotheraphy, Isabella revealed her appetite was nonexistant. “Last week, it just dropped to zero,” Isabella said in a May 2024 video. “So, it’s annoying.”
And though she was struggling with memory loss as well, she was able to dig into the bright side of the experience. “Tomorrow is really my last day of chemo,” Isabella noted, “and then it’s my last cycle, and then I’m done. It’s insane.”
A Crowning Achievement
Isabella picked up her crown to celebrate the end of her chemo treatments. “Just finished chemo,” she wrote in a June 2024 TikTok video, which she captioned, “Did it.”
The timing meant the University of Southern California student—who celebrated by ringing the bell after walking through a confetti parade—could have a bit of a summer break.
“I’m so happy cause I thought I’d be done at the end of July,” she explained. “I was supposed to do six rounds in total. And then I really would just have to go straight back to school. I’m so happy.”
Sharing that she had her chemo port removed in a July 2024 YouTube vlog, she acknowledged the area was still a bit sore. However, she reasoned, “The recovery for this seems to be four weeks of not going in water and stuff like that, just kind of being careful, and scar care. So not too bad.”
Officially Cancer Free
Isabella was obviously relieved to have a “great, great scan” after finishing her chemotherapy, sharing in a video posted to her YouTube channel July 2024 that “everything was clear. Cancer-free. And everything is great.”
Still, she acknowledged, “I miss my doctors already and everyone who’s helped. Because they’re all so nice. I feel like I’m just saddened today knowing that I wasn’t gonna be going back for a while ’cause I love them so much.”
Happiest Place on Earth
Now that she was officially cancer-free, what else could Isabella do except go to Disneyland? Her Super Bowl-winning dad joined her and twin sis Sophia to mark their joint 20th birthday a few days early in October 2024.
The college student also celebrated another key milestone.
“365 days since my life changed tremendously,” she captioned a shot of herself in a cap, gown, and mask, lying in a hospital bed on her Instagram Story. Adding another pic of all the balloons and flowers she received, she added, “Thankful for the progress I’ve made.”
“The Life I Fought For”
In a September 2024 TikTok video, Isabella shared clips from throughout her cancer journey, including her lying in a hospital bed, relearning how to walk and the aftermath of her freshly shaved head. However, the second half of the video featured snippets of her smiling alongside her Kenneth Cole modeling campaign, enjoying an oceanside hike and going on a run, which she was unable to do while sick.
In addition to the clips, H.E.R.’s song “The Journey” played throughout the TikTok, which says, “Going through hell, but still, you’re gonna make it through. It’s the fire that they can’t put out inside.”
In the caption of the post, Isabella triumphantly wrote, “Living the life I fought for.”
Source: www.eonline.com