NEW YORK, NY – Tatiana Schlossberg, the 35-year-old granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, publicly revealed she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer in a deeply personal essay published Friday in The New Yorker.
Schlossberg disclosed that she is battling acute myeloid leukemia featuring a rare Inversion 3 mutation, a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer. The diagnosis came shortly after she gave birth to her second child in May 2024, when doctors detected abnormalities in her white-blood-cell count during routine postpartum testing.
According to her essay, Schlossberg’s physician told her he could keep her “alive for a year, maybe” following several clinical trials and two bone marrow transplants. The grim prognosis has forced the young mother to confront her mortality while raising two young children.
Schlossberg is the second of three children born to Caroline Kennedy, who has served as U.S. ambassador to both Australia and Japan, and Edwin Schlossberg. She married Dr. George Moran in 2017, and the couple now has two children together.
In her essay, Schlossberg expressed profound guilt over adding yet another tragedy to her family’s already painful history. “For my whole life, I have tried to be good…Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life and there’s nothing I can do to stop it,” she wrote.
The Kennedy family has endured extraordinary loss over multiple generations. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, when Caroline Kennedy was just five years old. The family has since suffered numerous other tragedies, including the deaths of Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., and several other family members in accidents and acts of violence.
Schlossberg has maintained a relatively private life compared to some members of the Kennedy family. She has worked as an environmental journalist and author, publishing a book about climate change and environmental policy.
The decision to share her diagnosis publicly on November 22 carries particular significance for the Kennedy family. November 22 marks the anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, a date that has remained painful for the family for more than six decades.
Medical experts note that acute myeloid leukemia with Inversion 3 mutation is among the most challenging forms of the disease to treat. The mutation affects how cancer cells respond to standard treatments, often requiring aggressive intervention including multiple bone marrow transplants and experimental therapies.
Schlossberg’s mother, Caroline Kennedy, has not issued a public statement regarding her daughter’s diagnosis. The Kennedy family has historically maintained privacy around personal health matters when possible, though they have also used their platform to raise awareness about medical issues affecting their loved ones.
The essay in The New Yorker represents Schlossberg’s own choice to share her story with the public, offering a window into the personal struggles of a family that has lived much of its life in the public eye.
