Reaching Milestones After Cancer
- Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella, 19, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. She’s undergone surgery, radiation therapy, and grueling chemotherapy for treatment before reaching remission.
- Strahan’s type of brain cancer is medulloblastoma. It 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.
- Reaching milestones during or after a cancer battle matters. Milestones may include things like getting engaged or reaching another birthday, except they may mean even more than they did previously. Hence, taking them all in is important, and celebrating all you’ve overcome is important.
It’s been a long and trying eight months for the daughter “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella, who’s been battling brain cancer. She documented her journey in a series of video blogs, and she’s finally reached a milestone in the cancer journey she’s long waited for clear scans.
“It was a great scan; everything is clear, cancer-free,” Isabella, 19, said casually in her latest vlog.
Read MoreCommon 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, to try and get any remaining cancer cells left behind.
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Strahan shared that she had a hellacious chemotherapy experience as she struggled with the grueling side effects of treatment.
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.
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.
WATCH: What You Think You Know About Chemotherapy Side Effects May Be Wrong
Strahan recently had her chemotherapy port surgically removed, which also left behind a lingering sting.
“My side hurts a lot. It feels like I got stabbed…not enjoyable,” Strahan said in her vlog.
As the soreness from treatment continued to wear off, Strahan and her family focused on the positive and that she’d reached remission.
“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,” Strahan said.
Helping Patients Better Understand Brain Cancer
Reaching Milestones During Your Journey
For cancer warriors, reaching milestones is a big deal. After undergoing grueling cancer treatment for nearly a year, Isabella is understandably joyful, having made it to this moment.
According to Cancer.net, patients and their support groups filled with loved ones may engage in some activities to help recognize and celebrate memorable milestones. These activities include planning a nice dinner or party-like gathering and spending time donating money or volunteering to a cancer charity. Perhaps the way you memorialize your cancer milestone could be independent of others. Examples include a solitary walk in nature and allowing your senses to take hold while you reflect.
Once In Remission, a New Stage of Your Journey Begins
After a cancer warrior has made it through treatment and scans reveal no evidence of disease, it’s safe to say remission has been reached.
WATCH: Understanding Maintenance Therapy
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) defines remission as a “decrease in or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer.” In general, patients who if patients remain in remission for at least five years are considered to have “no signs of cancer” or “no evidence of disease.” Physicians often avoid saying someone is “cured” of cancer because some cancer cells can remain in the body and could return years down the road (also called recurrence).
While in remission, cancer survivors need to follow guidance from their care team. The types of follow-up may include undergoing regular scans every few months and taking maintenance therapy, which helps slow disease progression and extends the remission period.
“The premise of maintenance therapy is that we know there may be a low-level disease that’s still there, either at or below the level of detection with formal testing, and we want to use less intense therapy to try and keep it at bay or further reduce the burden even more,” Dr. Sagar Lonial, Chief Medical Officer at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University explained to SurvivorNet.
It’s not uncommon for cancer survivors to experience heightened levels of anxiety after cancer. This notably appears while receiving regular scans to ensure the cancer has not returned. This type of anxiety (also called scanxiety) is normal, and some helpful tips exist to help deal with it.
“The way that I define anxiety is that it’s an internal question that we simply can’t find the answers to,” Dr. Marianna Strongin, a clinical psychologist and founder of Strong In Therapy, previously told SurvivorNet.
WATCH: Learning to Cope With Anxiety
Survivors are encouraged to be open with their feelings, not just to themselves but to people they trust.
Survivors are also encouraged to find an activity they love and can become so immersed in that they forget about anxieties associated with cancer.
Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests that survivors draw four columns on a sheet of paper. Then, they are asked to write down what they know, what they don’t know, and what they can and cannot control.
“It’s a helpful way to dial down their anxiety. It involves trying to move as many items as possible into what they do know and what they can control,” Dr. Boardman said.
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