Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, has disclosed her diagnosis of terminal cancer in a candid essay published in The New Yorker. The 35-year-old journalist and granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy revealed that doctors identified her acute myeloid leukemia last year, shortly after she gave birth to her second child.
Schlossberg described the shocking moment of her diagnosis in her essay. Following the birth of her daughter, a routine check revealed an imbalance in her white blood cell count. Subsequent tests confirmed the presence of a rare mutation known as Inversion 3. “I did not—could not—believe that they were talking about me,” she wrote. “I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick.”
After her diagnosis, Schlossberg spent five weeks at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City before transferring to Memorial Sloan Kettering for a bone marrow transplant. Following her treatment, she continued with chemotherapy at home and joined a clinical trial for CAR-T-cell therapy in January 2023. Despite her efforts, doctors informed her that she might only have about a year to live.
In her heartfelt essay, Schlossberg reflected on the support she has received from her family during this challenging time. “George did everything for me that he possibly could. He talked to all the doctors and insurance people that I didn’t want to talk to; he slept on the floor of the hospital,” she shared, referring to her partner. “My parents and my brother and sister, too, have been raising my children and sitting in my various hospital rooms almost every day for the last year and a half.” She emphasized the emotional toll her illness has taken on her family, noting, “They have held my hand unflinchingly while I have suffered, trying not to show their pain and sadness in order to protect me from it.”
Schlossberg also expressed her thoughts on motherhood and her desire to create lasting memories with her children. “Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I’ll remember this forever… I’ll keep pretending. I will keep trying to remember,” she wrote, poignantly capturing the complexity of facing mortality.
As the granddaughter of a former president, Schlossberg’s story resonates with many who have followed the Kennedy family’s legacy. Her openness about her diagnosis brings attention to the realities of living with cancer and the importance of family support during such trying times. This personal account serves as a reminder of the strength found in vulnerability and the human connections that endure even in the face of adversity.
