A heart-wrenching essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, has ignited a national conversation about acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a relentless and often overlooked cancer. But here’s where it gets personal: just weeks after giving birth to her second child, Schlossberg received a diagnosis that no one, regardless of their prominence, is immune to—terminal cancer with less than a year to live. Her candid piece in The New Yorker (external: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-battle-with-my-blood) has not only moved readers but also spotlighted the urgent need for research and funding to combat treatment-resistant cancers like AML.
In her essay, A Battle With My Blood, Schlossberg, 35, reveals how a routine checkup after her daughter’s birth in May 2024 uncovered an abnormally high white blood cell count, leading to the devastating diagnosis. As the daughter of designer Edwin Schlossberg and diplomat Caroline Kennedy, she had always considered herself “one of the healthiest people I knew,” making the news even more shocking. Her story underscores a chilling reality: AML can strike suddenly, escalating from undetectable to life-threatening within days, as explained by Dr. Vijay Sankaran of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And this is the part most people miss: despite its rarity—affecting just four in 100,000 adults annually—AML’s aggressive nature and limited treatment options make it a silent but deadly threat.
Schlossberg’s specific subtype, a chromosomal abnormality known as Inversion 3, is even rarer, accounting for only 1-2% of AML cases. This genetic mutation complicates treatment, leaving few effective therapies. “Remissions or cures are the minority,” notes Dr. Courtney DiNardo of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Schlossberg has exhausted every option—bone marrow transplants (using cells from her sister), chemotherapy, and even a cutting-edge CAR-T-cell therapy clinical trial. Yet, her prognosis remains grim, with her doctor offering a stark prediction: “a year, maybe.”
But here’s where it gets controversial: as Schlossberg fights for her life, she’s also grappling with the actions of her cousin, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose sweeping cuts to research funding—including mRNA vaccine technology—have sent shockwaves through the scientific community. In her essay, she writes, “As I spent more of my life under the care of doctors and researchers striving to save lives, I watched Bobby cut nearly half a billion dollars for mRNA research, a technology with potential to combat certain cancers.” Kennedy’s decision, rooted in skepticism about mRNA’s risks, has had a chilling effect on cancer research, according to experts like Jeff Coller of Johns Hopkins University. “Researchers are afraid to propose clinical trials using mRNA,” Coller says, “even though these could be game-changing cancer vaccines.”
Schlossberg’s privileged access to top-tier care highlights a stark truth: even with the best resources, AML remains a formidable foe. Her story is a call to action, emphasizing the need for better screening tools and treatments for all patients. “Her poor prognosis, despite the best available tools, underscores our failure to do better,” Dr. Sankaran reflects. Now, here’s the question that lingers: If a family as influential as the Kennedys can’t escape the clutches of AML, what does that mean for the rest of us? And how can we advocate for the research funding needed to turn the tide against this relentless disease? Share your thoughts in the comments—this is a conversation we can’t afford to ignore.
