John F. Kennedy’s granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg has revealed she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has been told she has less than a year to live. The 35-year-old journalist and environmental author shared the news in a deeply personal essay published in The New Yorker, detailing her battle with acute myeloid leukaemia and the devastating timeline her doctors have given her.
Tatiana Schlossberg shares how she learned of her rare and aggressive cancer
In her essay, Schlossberg recounted how she learned of her diagnosis in May 2024, when doctors noticed an abnormal spike in her white blood cell count following the birth of her daughter. What initially appeared to be a pregnancy-related irregularity turned out to be acute myeloid leukemia linked to a rare mutation called Inversion 3.Doctors told Schlossberg that she could not be cured through standard treatment. She was informed she would need months of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant. Despite feeling healthy and active, she suddenly found herself facing a life-threatening condition.Schlossberg spent five weeks at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital before transferring to Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she underwent extensive chemotherapy. Earlier this year, she joined a clinical trial for CAR-T cell therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy. She later learned from her doctor that she has less than a year left to live.Schlossberg wrote about the immense support she has received from her husband, George Moran, and her parents and siblings. Her husband handled communication with doctors and insurance companies and slept on the hospital floor to stay by her side.Her parents, Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, along with siblings Rose and Jack, have cared for her young children and sat with her through countless hospital stays. Schlossberg described their unwavering devotion as a profound gift, even as she feels the emotional weight of their pain.Schlossberg reflected on the difficulty of accepting her diagnosis as an active young mother with two small children. She wrote that she tries to stay present for them but often finds herself drifting between memories and the harsh reality of her illness.Her essay ends with a bittersweet reflection on family, vulnerability and the struggle to find peace with a fate she cannot change.
