'Not possibly be my life...': JFK's granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg announces terminal cancer diagnosis

Tatiana Schlossberg, a journalist and granddaughter of late US President John F Kennedy, revealed on Saturday (Nov 22) that she has terminal cancer. She said that her doctor told her she likely has less than a year left to live. The 35-year old has acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a rare mutation called Inversion 3.

Schlossberg got to know about her cancer on May 25, 2024, the same day she gave birth to her second child. Soon after she delivered, her doctor noticed her white blood cell count was extremely high and asked her for more tests. She said that she never expected a cancer diagnosis because she believed she was one of the healthiest people in the world.

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"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," she wrote in an essay on The New Yorker. "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 added. Expressing her shock over the diagnosis, she also wrote, “This could not possibly be my life.”

Who is Tatiana Schlossberg?

Tatiana Schlossberg, 35, is the daughter of designer Edwin Schlossberg and US diplomat Caroline Kennedy. She is the granddaughter of late US President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She has two siblings, Jack Schlossberg (running for Congress) and Rose Kennedy Schlossberg. Earlier this month, her brother Jack announced that he is planning to run for the Congress in New York. Jack Schlossberg has expressed his support for his sister, saying, “Life is short—let it rip," in his Instagram story.

What is AML?

Acute myeloid leukemia is a fast-growing cancer that begins in the bone marrow and quickly enters the bloodstream. According to the American Cancer Society, common symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, fever, night sweats and loss of appetite.

Schlossberg also wrote about the emotional fear of her diagnosis. Her uncle John F Kennedy Jr died in a plane crash at 38 and her grandmother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died of cancer when she was young. Her brother, John F Kennedy Jr, died in a plane crash in 1999.