Former Senator Ben Sasse Reveals Stage-Four Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis
Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with metastatic, stage-four pancreatic cancer — a condition he described candidly as “a death sentence.”
“This is a tough note to write,” Sasse said in a post on X. “Since many of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and I’m gonna die.”
The 53-year-old former lawmaker, who served in the Senate from 2015 to 2023, reflected on the human condition with characteristic frankness. “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do,” he wrote.
Sasse expressed gratitude for his faith, saying the Christmas season has taken on special meaning for him. “As a Christian, the weeks leading up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come,” he noted, adding that his hope is rooted not in human optimism but in faith: “Optimism is great — but it’s not what holds up when you tell your daughters you won’t walk them down the aisle.”
After leaving the Senate, Sasse became president of the University of Florida in early 2023. He stepped down the following year, citing his wife Melissa’s epilepsy diagnosis and related memory issues. At the time, he emphasized the importance of focusing on family: “Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights.”
In his latest message, Sasse said he intends to keep fighting. “I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,” he wrote, acknowledging the progress of modern medicine and the role of faith and humor in facing mortality. “Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.”
He concluded his post with a message of peace and biblical reflection as Christmas approaches: “As our family faces the reality of treatments — and more importantly, as we celebrate Christmas — we wish you peace: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light… For to us a son is given’ (Isaiah 9).”