October 28, 2023: Isabella Strahan’s 19th birthday wasn’t how she had imagined it to be. There were morning hugs from her parents, yes, but the beeping sounds of machines filled up her room instead of the customary living room chatter. Instead of a birthday cake she could look forward to, prayers took shelter as the teenager spent her special day in the hospital recovering from an emergency brain surgery to remove a rare and fast-growing cancerous tumor. Before her diagnosis, Isabella was a bright-eyed freshman at USC, until she went on a hike that would change her life…

Her friends feared she was going to fall off a mountain—Isabella could hardly walk in a straight line by that point. A doctor diagnosed her with an ear infection until she threw up blood. Two days before her 19th birthday, an official diagnosis revealed it to be medulloblastoma, a type of malignant tumor in her cerebellum.

The young girl had to go through three surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy, and six weeks of radiation therapy within just eight months, until she could proudly proclaim her triumph. On June 15 this year, she announced she was cancer-free with a series of photos from her hospital trips, captioned, “After the wildest 8 months, I finally got to ring the bell. Grateful for my journey.” One particular photo had the Strahan family holding up a sign that read, “Hooray for Isabella.” In another update, she also wrote, “Believe that things will get better. No matter what, keep going! F— cancer!” 

And not just Isabella. It was like a sobering journey that the whole Strahan family had to take. One that taught them the value of keeping loved ones close. Her father and NFL Hall of Famer defensive end, and current broadcaster Michael Strahan reminisced the earth shattering news to Town & Country Magazine: “I couldn’t believe it. I was in disbelief. I mean, here the young lady, in the freshman year at USC. We had just seen her…Anytime your kids or your child is going through any pain, discomfort, you usually can jump in and try to help. But, in this case, I’m kind of at the mercy of the doctors and medicine and prayer. Nothing else matters, except for your family, because you can get more of everything, but you can’t get more life.”

“It was definitely tough and painful to watch that. It was like. How soon is it going to come back? It was painful for her to get out of bed and move and do those things that are completely necessary for her to do.” She had to relearn walking and talking after losing her ability to do so because of cancer. But it didn’t break her determination to get back up and return to her usual life as Michael continued, “As a parent, to see that was unsettling at times. But throughout this entire journey. Isabella has inspired and helped us all by how she has approached what she was facing,” he added.

Isabella’s twin sister Sophia also shared her feelings about the ordeal on social media on January 10 this year, writing, “I’m so lucky to have the most amazing sister and best friend in the world. 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. You inspire me and I’m so proud of you. Us forever 💞”

Although Isabella did prove to be an inspiration for all those people going through cancer treatment, Michael did signify her fighting spirit that made it possible. “She has worked so hard, and with such amazing spirit. And she is still on a journey with her vision, balance, and getting her weight back.” Even Isabella gave her thoughts on trying to find her weight and balance back, “My balance is all over the place. I have frozen shakes all the time, and I’m like, ‘Why haven’t I gained 30 pounds?'” But all of aside, the youngster now has a new goal in mind…

“I get to start my freshman year again, and I hope I’m there for longer than 50 days this time…I feel like I’ve grown in many ways. I’m super-­grateful for walking and talking again. You don’t think of the things you can do until you live without them,” she confessed. And even her father wished the same for his little girl as he stated, “I can’t wait for her to be back at college and live, to get back to what she was doing before and have fun, sororities, football games. And most of all go to class and get great grades.”

As the Strahan family’s tough journey nears its end, it’s hard not to remember the former defensive end’s co-host on Fox NFL Sunday, Terry Bradshaw, who went through a similar journey not even half a decade ago. However, this time, another controversy has paved its way in the 76-year-old’s life…

Amidst retirement calls, Terry Bradshaw paves the way as a cancer survivor

Having won four Super Bowls during his time as a quarterback in the NFL, Bradshaw is now 30 years into his broadcasting duties with FOX NFL Sunday. And similar to Strahan’s recent struggles with her daughter’s fight against cancer, Bradshaw fought a similar battle himself in the last few years. Dating back to 2022, Bradshaw opened up on being diagnosed with cancer twice in 2021, “In November, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I went to the Yale University Medical surgery treatment. As of today, I am bladder cancer-free.” 

But Bradshaw didn’t only leave behind bladder cancer. He also outsmarted a rare form of skin cancer too, “Alright, that’s good news. Then in March, feeling good. I had a bad back. I get an MRI, now we find a tumor in my left neck, and it’s Merkel cell tumor, which is a rare form of skin cancer.” However, surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center resulted in him removing that tumor once and for all.

Even his co-host at that time, Strahan, shared his emotional thoughts on hearing Bradshaw being cancer-free, “I think you’re going to give a lot of hope to a lot of people out there who are going through something very similar. We hope you’re feeling back to 100% soon, Terry!” Although Bradshaw may have defeated cancer two years ago, fans now want him to retire for good. His series of mishaps has led to fans calling for his retirement from live television, “How is Terry Bradshaw still on TV?” One of those instances came when the 76-year-old called Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins “Kerk Collins.” 

During another slip-up, the veteran had started analyzing a game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, while Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans highlights were playing. “Whoops, wrong one,” the he had remarked upon realizing, leading his co-host Curt Menefee to take over for damage control.

However, this led to fans flooding into X to voice their concerns about Bradshaw’s deteriorating health: “Terry Bradshaw needs to retire. Dude can barely read or get his words out during the halftime show.” Amid those retirement calls, one of the fans also questioned Fox for still having Bradshaw on the show, “Amazing they haven’t pushed these fossils into retirement years ago. Who’s tuning in for Bradshaw?”

Even though Bradshaw has continued his cheerful commentary on Fox Sports Network for more than three decades. Some of those concerns aren’t necessarily bad for the veteran broadcaster. His health must be given priority as fans repeatedly point out his mistakes on the internet. However, amid all those calls, he has surely served as a beacon of hope for Strahan’s daughter when she battled cancer this past year.