Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, disclosed her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published in The New Yorker on Saturday. The 34-year-old environmental journalist revealed she has acute myeloid leukemia with a rare mutation typically found in older adults, a diagnosis confirmed shortly after the birth of her second child in May 2024.
In her reflective piece, released on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather's assassination, Schlossberg described her medical journey, including extensive chemotherapy and multiple stem cell transplants. A stark statement from her doctor indicates that she might have only a year left to live.
Moreover, she expressed concerns over health policies pushed by her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, who has been criticized for reducing funding for mRNA vaccine research—technology that could aid cancer treatment. Schlossberg's mother, Caroline Kennedy, has publicly urged senators to oppose RFK Jr.'s initiatives.
Schlossberg’s personal struggle with cancer intertwines with her grief over the prospect of not being able to raise her children and a heightened sense of family burdens. I feel cheated and sad that I won't get to keep living 'the wonderful life' I had with my husband, she lamented, sharing the emotional toll on her and her family in the face of her diagnosis.
