Removing the tumor was only the first step. Following surgery, she entered a long, painful treatment regimen:
first a month of rehabilitation, during which she had to re‑learn basic functions such as walking, then six weeks of radiation therapy (30 sessions), followed by chemotherapy.
In a June 2024 video marking the end of her chemo, she stood in a hospital hallway surrounded by balloons, signs, and cheers — medical staff, family, and friends applauding.
She rang the “chemo bell,” a symbolic act for many cancer patients signaling the end of active treatment.
But the journey wasn’t painless. In a February 2024 vlog she described excruciating side‑effects: “My whole mouth feels like I got one giant root canal,” she said, telling viewers that even swallowing water hurt.
Jaw pain, tongue soreness, and mouth sensitivity were just some of the daily obstacles.
There was also a terrifying moment when she needed an emergency skull surgery:
doctors drained excess fluid from her head, replaced bone with a titanium plate, and she emerged from the procedure awake — fragile, swollen, in pain, but fighting. She described the experience as traumatic.
Through it all, her twin sister Sophia Strahan, family, friends, medical staff — and eventually the public — became her support system.
From pain to fear, to fragile hope — she didn’t hide the reality. She said she wanted to “be a voice” for others going through similar battles.
A Milestone: Declared Cancer‑Free
In July 2024, in a video titled “Goodbye Hospital,” Isabella shared the news she and her family had long hoped for: all scans were clear.
She was cancer‑free. After months of surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, the results were in — tumor gone, treatment over.
She admitted that, despite the joy and relief, there was also a bittersweet moment of loss: saying goodbye to the hospital staff and doctors who had supported her so much.
“I miss my doctors already and everyone who’s helped me because they’re all so nice,” she said.
For the first time in a long time, she looked ahead to the future: returning to college, picking up her life where it had been abruptly paused, pursuing dreams that once felt impossible.
