The Importance of Support
- Isabella Strahan, who is in remission after overcoming a rare and aggressive brain cancer, has admitted that her and her dad have gotten closer since her diagnosis, and now prioritize “weekly dinners.”
- Strahan underwent surgery, radiation therapy, and grueling chemotherapy for treatment before reaching remission in her fight against an agressive type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma.
- Medulloblastoma is a rare primary central nervous system tumor. This type of brain tumor is cancerous and proliferates, making it more likely to spread to other parts of the body. Immediate treatment was needed, including surgery to remove most of the tumor, followed by radiation and chemotherapy to get whatever was left behind.
- Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin tells SurvivorNet, that it’s “important that you surround yourself with individuals who care and support you throughout and after your treatment,” which she said can be an “arduous chapter.”
“He’s here in L.A. every weekend during football, so we do a dinner date every Saturday,” the 21-year-old model, who is studying journalism and communications at the University of Southern California (USC), exclusively told US Weekly, in a recent interview.
Read MoreThe Delta Gamma sorority member also shared that she looks forward to her dinners with her dad because after “eating bagels all week” she’ll get to enough a “nice steak dinner” with her dad.View this post on Instagram
Strahan emphasized that both she and her father are dedicated to sharing their experiences to help others. They were recently scheduled to participate in a panel at USC about navigating sickness, but her father’s flight was delayed, so he couldn’t make it.
She then insisted, “I think it’s really important to always have those people in your corner.”
The cherished internet personality, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2023 and reached remission by July 2024, also expressed deep gratitude for her sorority chapter, twin sister, Sophia, and their mom, Jean Muggli, highlighting them as crucial pillars of her support system throughout her journey, she told US Weekly.
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Referring to how she now appreciates her hair more than ever as it’s growing back, Strahan added, “Before my treatment, I had very long curly hair. Everyone would always be like, ‘Oh, your hair is so pretty.’ I feel like I placed a lot of value in my long, curly hair.
“Now looking back on it, I kind of liked the bald. Hopefully, it’ll never come back, but it was so low maintenance. I’m seeing that it’s not just hair that makes someone special, it’s really how they treat other people. I actually get a lot of compliments on my little afro now.”
“I know I placed a lot of confidence in how my hair looked, and now, seeing all the different stages of short to awkward lengths and everything in between, it’s really interesting to see that personal growth for myself,” Strahan added, expressing how she’s happy that she’s happy in becoming a brand ambassador for F.A.S.T. Haircare, a company that resonates with her personal journey and outlook after battling cancer.
Strahan also recently opened up to People about her new partnership and how her cancer journey has given her a renewed sense of confidence, sharing, “Pre-cancer diagnosis, I would always kind of equate my beauty with my hair because I would get so many compliments. It was strawberry, red auburn and 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.’”
Strahan, who lost her hair during chemotherapy, went on to say, “Sometimes I’m like, ugh I really took advantage of my hair. 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.”
She also noted that her hair had initially grown back straighter and darker, but now it’s becoming curlier and gradually lightening in color.
Strahan added, “It’s just a journey and a process kind of learning my hair. 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.”
Isabella’s Battle With Medulloblastoma
Isabella Strahan documented her journey with Medulloblastoma in a series of video blogs, and she finally was declared “cancer-free” after having a clear scan in July 2024.
Earlier in 2023, she revealed she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after experiencing harsh headaches and nausea and had trouble walking.
More specifically, she had a medulloblastoma, which is a rare primary central nervous system tumor, the National Cancer Institute explains. This type of brain tumor is cancerous and grows quickly, making it more likely to spread to other parts of the body.
Common symptoms for this type of tumor may include:
- Difficulty walking or balancing
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Difficulty with vision
- Seizures
She first underwent emergency surgery to remove most of the mass in her brain. Additional treatment includes radiation therapy, followed by chemotherapy, in hopes of getting any remaining cancer cells left behind.
WATCH: Hair loss during chemo.
Strahan spoke about her harrowing chemotherapy journey, describing the intense and exhausting side effects she had to endure.
Chemotherapy is an effective tool for oncologists to help treat cancer by stopping cancerous cells from growing, dividing, and spreading to other organs. Chemo works by traveling through the bloodstream, killing cancerous cells. However, the process also impacts healthy cells, leading to side effects.
Expert Support Resources
- 27 Thoughtful Gift Ideas to Support Loved Ones Through a Cancer Journey
- A Cancer Survivor’s Ode To Friends and Family: “My Support System Helped Me Heal”
- Cancer Support Groups Aren’t for Everyone — We All Have Our Own Way of Coping
- Mental Health and Cancer — The Fight, Flight or Freeze Response
- Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
Patients almost universally experience fatigue, often alongside gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea. Doctors have many effective medications to combat chemo-induced nausea. “But mitigating that fatigue often depends on the patient,” says Dr. Renata Urban, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, previously told SurvivorNet.
Since reaching remission, Strahan said in one of her YouTube videos, “Ring the bell three times. It’s a toll to clearly say my treatment is done, this course is run, and I’m on my way.”
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Power of Support
If you were recently diagnosed with cancer, or have overcome a health struggle, you likely know about the wide range of emotions that news can bring. This is one of the most challenging phases of the cancer journey to overcome.
However, a team of supporters can be most useful during these early stages. Your supporters can be close family members and friends or people from outside your inner circle.
WATCH: Sharing details about your cancer diagnosis.
“Some people don’t need to go outside their family and friends circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik tells SurvivorNet.
“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it is important to reach out to a mental health professional,” she added.
One benefit of having supporters is that they can help alleviate stress and anxiety following your diagnosis and advocate for you during treatment.
Sometimes, it is not always easy to share news you have cancer, even among loved ones. In such instances, you can seek a trained professional to center your support group around. Mental health professionals can help fill this space because many are trained to help you navigate your cancer treatment.
Expert Support Resources
- 27 Thoughtful Gift Ideas to Support Loved Ones Through a Cancer Journey
- A Cancer Survivor’s Ode To Friends and Family: “My Support System Helped Me Heal”
- Cancer Support Groups Aren’t for Everyone — We All Have Our Own Way of Coping
- Mental Health and Cancer — The Fight, Flight or Freeze Response
- Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
“Make sure that the mental health professional that you work with is reaching out with your consent to the rest of your team, to the oncologist, to the surgeon, it can also be helpful to reach out to family, friends, and any other caretakers that may be involved in the person’s treatment,” Dr. Plutchik said.
Dr. Plutchki recommends cancer patients consider the following three steps to get the help they need after a diagnosis:
- Step #1: Seek additional support if you need it (this could mean speaking to a mental health professional or seeking out a support group)
- Step #2: Look for a mental health professional with experience helping people in your situation.
- Step #3: Keep your care team connected. This may include your friends and loved ones, your therapist, and the doctors who are treating your cancer.
Family Love and Support Makes a World of Difference During Cancer Treatment
Meanwhile, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin previously wrote for SurvivorNet, that it’s “important that you surround yourself with individuals who care and support you throughout your treatment,” which she said can be an “arduous chapter.”
That being said, it’s very important to know your limits on what you can handle during or after treatment.
“Going through treatment is a very vulnerable and emotionally exhausting experience,” she wrote. “Noticing what you have strength for and what is feeling like too much [is] extremely important to pay attention to as you navigate treatment.”
Supporting a Loved One Facing a Health Challenge
Research published in The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine studied the impact of disease on family members. It found, “Most chronic diseases have similar effects on family members, including psychological and emotional functioning, disruption of leisure activities, effect on interpersonal relationships, and financial resources.”
If you have a loved one fighting a disease or cancer, SurvivorNet has some ideas to help you better support your loved one. Simple tasks like helping with household chores or running errands can do wonders for your loved one who’s diagnosed.
These tasks can make all the difference in relieving stress when the effect of chemotherapy brings on fatigue, for example. Other ideas to help your loved one battling cancer include cooking, bringing prepared meals, or doing an activity you enjoy together.
The support helps put your loved one battling a disease or cancer more at ease, as they may be overwhelmed with anxiety after a diagnosis or during intense treatment.
“There are a number of common things cancer patients can experience,” Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
“Anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation, and PTSD,” Dr. Tworoger said, are all emotions cancer warriors may experience and can be eased by loved ones.
If you are a caregiver of your loved one facing a diagnosis, it is important to maintain your mental and physical health.
“Caregiving is the most important job in the universe because you are there through the highs and lows,” Julie Bulger, manager of patient and family-centered care at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
Caregivers must also watch out for “caregiver burnout,” where stress, anger, fatigue, and illness emerge from putting another person’s needs ahead of their own. Anyone struggling to care for a cancer warrior should seek out a therapist or a support group, either online or in person.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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