Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former US President John F. Kennedy, revealed in a deeply personal essay that she has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia. The 35-year-old environmental journalist disclosed that the diagnosis came shortly after the birth of her second child in May 2024. Her doctor told her she likely has less than a year to live, marking a devastating chapter in the Kennedy family’s history of tragic losses.
Schlossberg wrote the essay, published in The New Yorker on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination, to share the reality of her illness and treatment journey. She described how her diagnosis occurred after a routine check detected an unusually high white blood cell count. The specific form of leukemia she has features a rare mutation named Inversion 3, which is typically seen in far fewer than 2% of cases and is associated with poor prognosis.
Following her diagnosis, Schlossberg endured an intense and prolonged treatment regimen including several rounds of chemotherapy, two bone marrow transplants. The first used cells from her sister and the second from an unrelated donor. She also took part in multiple clinical trials, including CAR T-cell therapy, an immunotherapy showing promise in fighting certain blood cancers. During treatment, she suffered severe complications such as graft-versus-host disease where the new immune cells attack her own body and a variant of the Epstein-Barr virus that severely impacted her kidneys.
Despite her medical ordeal, Schlossberg has strived to remain present and engaged with her family, leaning on the support of her husband George Moran and their two young children. She described the physical toll of her illness, including muscle loss and the struggle to regain basic mobility, as she relearned how to walk after the worst phases of treatment.
In her essay, Schlossberg voiced criticism of her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, for policies she believes undermined medical research funding and access to critical healthcare. She highlighted the cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the potential impacts such policies have on leukemia research and the trials representing her best chance for remission. Her mother Caroline Kennedy has publicly opposed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as health secretary.
Tatiana Schlossberg’s revelation adds a poignant chapter to the Kennedy family’s legacy marked by public service, tragedy, and loss. Her courage in sharing her story brings attention to the harsh realities faced by cancer patients and underscores ongoing challenges in medical research and healthcare policy.
