Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, has disclosed her terminal cancer diagnosis in a heartfelt essay published on Saturday. The 35-year-old journalist revealed that she has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, specifically a rare mutation known as Inversion 3, which affects less than 2% of AML cases. This diagnosis came shortly after she gave birth to her second child in May 2024.

In her essay for The New Yorker, Schlossberg expressed disbelief upon receiving the news. "I did not — could not — believe that they were talking about me. I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew," she wrote.

Schlossberg's treatment journey has been arduous, involving multiple rounds of chemotherapy, two bone-marrow transplants, and participation in two clinical trials. She also faced complications, including a diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus in September, which severely impacted her kidneys and required her to relearn how to walk. In her essay, she noted that during her latest clinical trial, her doctor informed her that he could keep her alive for only about a year.

As the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and designer Edwin Schlossberg, Schlossberg is also a mother to a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. She acknowledged the support of her husband, George Moran, and her siblings, Rose and Jack, who have been instrumental in helping raise her children. "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," she wrote.

Schlossberg reflected on her family's history of tragedy, including the assassinations of her grandfather, John F. Kennedy, in 1963, and her great-uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968. She expressed regret for adding to this legacy of sorrow. "For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry. 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.

In her essay, Schlossberg also shared her concerns about the healthcare system, particularly after the Trump administration's actions that affected funding for Columbia University, where she received treatment. She described feeling uncertain about the stability of the healthcare system she relied on during her battle with cancer.

As she faces this challenging chapter, Schlossberg emphasized the importance of creating lasting memories with her children. "Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I’ll remember this forever, I’ll remember this when I’m dead. Obviously, I won’t. But since I don’t know what death is like and there’s no one to tell me what comes after it, I’ll keep pretending. I will keep trying to remember," she concluded.