Tatiana Schlossberg, the 35-year-old granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, has moved the nation with a powerful essay revealing her diagnosis of terminal acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) shortly after giving birth to her second child.
In her New Yorker piece, “A Battle With My Blood,” Schlossberg disclosed she has less than a year to live. She described her shock at the diagnosis, having considered herself “one of the healthiest people I knew.” Her specific subtype of AML, a chromosomal abnormality, is exceptionally rare and treatment-resistant, with remissions “are the minority,” according to experts.
Doctors say her essay has profoundly raised awareness for the aggressive blood cancer. “Anybody can be affected by cancer, even people who are young, who are seemingly healthy,” said Dr. Vijay Sankaran of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The personal tragedy is set against a fraught political backdrop. Schlossberg wrote of the painful irony of watching her cousin, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., slash nearly half a billion dollars in research funding while she underwent grueling treatments, including a bone marrow transplant and a clinical trial for CAR-T-cell therapy.
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, revoked the funding for mRNA technology, claiming it poses risks for respiratory viruses. However, researchers warn the cuts have had a “chilling effect” on the entire mRNA field, stifling promising research into cancer vaccines.
Schlossberg’s battle, even with access to the best care, underscores a critical need for more research funding. As one physician stated, her case “emphasizes our need to do better for many of our patients,” highlighting that current tools are insufficient against some of the most aggressive cancers.
By James Kisoo
