Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former US President John F. Kennedy, has revealed that she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and may have only about a year to live.
Schlossberg shared her story in a heartfelt essay published in The New Yorker over the weekend, coinciding with the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination.
Schlossberg, 34, said she was diagnosed in May 2024 after routine tests following the birth of her second child showed an abnormally high white blood cell count. Further examination confirmed that she had acute myeloid leukaemia with a rare mutation usually seen in older adults, 1News reported.
An environmental journalist, Schlossberg detailed her treatment journey, which has included several rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants, one using her sister’s cells and another from an unrelated donor, as well as participation in clinical trials. During one recent trial, she recalled her doctor telling her “he could keep me alive for a year, maybe,” 1News quoted.
In her essay, Schlossberg also raised concerns over health policies supported by her cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warning that they could negatively affect cancer patients like herself. She wrote:
“As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers.” Her mother, Caroline Kennedy, has also urged senators to reject his confirmation, as quoted by 1News.
Schlossberg described her emotional struggle with the diagnosis, confessing her fear that her young children may not remember her as they grow up.
She said she felt heartbroken at the thought of losing “the wonderful life” she shared with her husband, George Moran. She also reflected on the pain within her family, writing that while her parents and siblings tried to hide their anguish, she sensed it every day.
“For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry,” she wrote. “Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it,” as quoted by 1News.