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Tatiana Schlossberg cancer diagnosis headlines a heartbreaking story from the 35-year-old journalist and granddaughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. She revealed she is living with terminal acute myeloid leukemia (AML), diagnosed shortly after she gave birth to her daughter in May 2024. Doctors later told her she may have less than a year to live.
Schlossberg shared her experience in a powerful essay for The New Yorker, where she described her disbelief when doctors first delivered the news. She had remained active throughout pregnancy and believed she was in excellent health.
A Rare and Aggressive Form of AML
Doctors identified a rare mutation known as Inversion 3, which appears in fewer than two percent of AML cases. Schlossberg endured several rounds of chemotherapy, two bone-marrow transplants, and two clinical trials.
In September, she developed a severe Epstein-Barr virus infection that damaged her kidneys and forced her to relearn how to walk. She wrote that her physician warned her that new treatments might extend her life for only a year.
Family Support During a Difficult Time
Schlossberg and her husband, George Moran, share a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. Her siblings, filmmaker Rose Schlossberg and congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg, help care for the children and support her daily.
She also reflected on the challenges of navigating treatment while her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., took over the Department of Health and Human Services after his independent presidential bid. She noted that Trump-era funding cuts to Columbia University created uncertainty for her medical team at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
A Legacy Marked by Tragedy
Schlossberg expressed deep sadness about adding another painful chapter to her family’s history, which includes the assassinations of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. She wrote that she always tried to protect her mother, Caroline Kennedy, and now feels heartbroken that she cannot shield her family from this new grief.
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