Former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R) revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with metastatic stage-four pancreatic cancer, describing the illness as “a death sentence” in a candid message to the public.
“This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch 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 am gonna die,” Sasse wrote on X. “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too—we all do. I’ve got less time than I’d prefer.”
Sasse, 53, emphasized the importance of faith in facing terminal illness.
“As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come,” he wrote.
He distinguished spiritual hope from optimism, explaining that hope is grounded in a “real Deliverer—a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place.”
Sasse served in the U.S. Senate from 2015 through 2023, then became president of the University of Florida.
He stepped down from the university last year to focus on his wife Melissa’s recent epilepsy diagnosis and memory challenges.
The couple has three children, including a daughter in the U.S. Air Force, another who recently graduated college, and a 14-year-old son, according to Fox News.
The announcement prompted an outpouring of support from political colleagues and former Senate peers.
Vice President JD Vance wrote, “I’m very sorry to hear this Ben. May God bless you and your family.”
Former colleague Deb Fischer (R-NE) added, “I know he will face this difficult challenge anchored in his strong Christian faith and bolstered by the love of family and friends. Ben, I am keeping you and your loved ones in my prayers.”
Sasse acknowledged the emotional strain of confronting a terminal diagnosis as a husband and father.
“Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all,” he wrote. “Death and dying aren’t the same—the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.”
During his Senate career, Sasse occasionally took high-profile and controversial stances, the New York Post notes.
He voted to convict President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
His tenure at the University of Florida faced protests over his conservative positions on same-sex marriage and LGBT issues, as well as concerns about his experience leading a major institution.
Despite the prognosis, Sasse emphasized staying grounded in faith and family while also acknowledging medical hope.
“One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more,” he wrote. “Death and dying aren’t the same—the process of dying is still something to be lived.”
