Former Sen Ben Sasse reveals stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, calls it a 'death sentence'

PLAINVIEW, NEBRASKA: Former Republican senator Ben Sasse shared a medical update with the public on Tuesday, December 23. The former UF president announced his diagnosis in a post on X, where he revealed that he had been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer.”

As he chimed in further on his prognosis, Sasse revealed that he was “gonna die.” He spoke further about his disease and said that advanced pancreatic cancer was “nasty stuff,” and called it a “death sentence.” 

Ben Sasse says he is 'not going down without a fight'

The former Nebraska representative took to X to announce his diagnosis with a lengthy, heartfelt post.

In the post, he praised the advancement of science and said that he was “not going down without a fight.”

Sasse added that one part of “God’s grace” had been found in “jaw-dropping” advances that science had made in recent years in the fields of immunotherapy. He added that “dead and dying” were different things. Noting that “the process of dying” was something that could be lived.

He added that his family was embracing the sad news “zealously” and that he had promised to do his part in running “through the irreverent tape.”

The former Senator stated that although his family was faced with the reality of treatments. They were still celebrating Christmas.   

Ben Sasse discusses taking a step back from politics

In his post, the former senator from Nebraska also said that he had less time left than he’d like, something that was hard for him to accept as a “husband and a dad.”

He revealed that he and his wife, Melissa, had grown closer over the past year as they stepped back from public life.

As he spoke about his family, Sasse wrote that Connie had been commissioned into the Air Force while Alex graduated from college a semester early, and that Breck was learning how to drive.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints,” he said.

As the post progressed, he spoke about “optimism,” noting people often mistook it for “hope.” He said that optimism was “great” until one had to tell their daughters they would not be able to walk them down the aisle. 

“Not telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.”