Warning: This article discusses cancer, which may be distressing for some readers.
Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy, has opened up about her devastating cancer diagnosis and her experiences watching her cousin, RFK Jr., engage in health politics.
In an essay published in The New Yorker on Saturday, November 22, Schlossberg disclosed that she was given less than a year to live following a diagnosis received shortly after the birth of her second child in May 2024.
The 35-year-old chose to share her story on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination. The climate journalist also criticized her second cousin, Robert F Kennedy Jr., and his role as US health secretary during the Trump administration.
In her essay, Schlossberg recounted being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, which initially left her bewildered.
The mother of two remarked that she considered herself to be in good health, even describing herself as the ‘healthiest’ person she knew.
However, this was not the case.
Despite her active lifestyle, which included activities like running, skiing, and swimming in New York’s Hudson River to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Schlossberg was afflicted by a mutated form of leukemia that proved resilient to advanced treatments, causing painful side effects.
Schlossberg recounted the moment she learned of her diagnosis: “On May 25, 2024, my daughter was born at seven-oh-five in the morning, ten minutes after I arrived at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital, in New York.”
Shortly after, her husband, urologist George Moran, noticed that a “few hours later, my doctor noticed that my blood count looked strange.”
Schlossberg detailed that a typical white-blood-cell count ranges from four to eleven thousand cells per microliter, while hers was alarmingly high at “a hundred and thirty-one thousand cells per microliter.”
The doctor indicated that this anomaly might be linked to her pregnancy… or it could signify cancer.
Unfortunately, despite her initial disbelief due to feeling well, the cancer was aggressive and eventually deemed terminal.
Even with a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy, Schlossberg indicated that her doctors advised her prognosis was not optimistic.
“During the latest clinical trial, my doctor told me that he could keep me alive for a year, maybe,” she wrote.
Schlossberg expressed her concerns and unease about her second cousin, RFK Jr., becoming Donald Trump’s health secretary.
“I watched from my hospital bed as Bobby, in the face of logic and common sense, was confirmed for the position, despite never having worked in medicine, public health, or the government,” she shared in her open letter. “Suddenly, the healthcare system on which I relied felt strained, shaky.”
She added: “Throughout my treatment, he had been on the national stage: previously a Democrat, he was running for president as an Independent, but mostly as an embarrassment to me and the rest of my immediate family.”
Despite her family’s efforts to prevent his appointment, they were unsuccessful, and he became known for his controversial views on health and medicine.
Schlossberg acknowledged that her time was limited but resolved to try to “remember” as much as possible to take with her into the next life.
UNILAD has reached out to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office for comment.
If you have been affected by these issues and wish to speak to someone confidentially, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or through their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.