BAD BLOOD

Last month, Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and an environmental journalist, passed away. She was diagnosed with an acute myeloid leukemia in the immediate aftermath of giving birth to her second child less and passed way less than 18 months after being diagnosed. 

In the months following that diagnosis, she underwent multiple treatments, including two bone marrow transplants and experimental CAR-T therapy to target her recalcitrant cancer. She chronicled her experience as a cancer patient in a piece in the New Yorker entitled, "A Further Shore" that I found to be incredibly poignant. 

The piece was striking for the clarity of the medical history she recounted, but more importantly this essay brought to life the human toll cancer takes on far too many children, parents, and siblings - all categories to which Ms. Schlossberg belonged.

Though I have taken care of cancer patients as an attending for 19 years now, this piece made me truly appreciate the toll this disease takes on a patient and their family. There was not a single aspect of Ms. Schlossberg's life that was not turned upside down. 

Amidst her illness, she found herself remembering moments of the past both big and small. These surely served as touchstones for the life she once had and perhaps allowed an escape from the difficult circumstances she faced from her disease and treatment complications. 

After reading this piece, I was left with a much greater appreciation for the gift of health and how death is inevitable for us all. If we are lucky, we can look back on a life lived like Ms. Schlossberg full of passion, love, and dedication to causes bigger than ourselves. Rest in peace.