(NewsNation) — Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced he had terminal stage-four pancreatic cancer, calling it a “death sentence.”
“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.
Pancreatic cancer is a disease that affects digestive enzyme production and blood sugar regulation, and is one of the deadliest cancers due to late-stage diagnoses, according to WHO.
“I’ve got less time than I prefer,” Sasse added. “This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad.”
Sasse, 53, represented the state of Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2023 before resigning to become the president of the University of Florida from February of 2023 to July of 2024. He left his position at the university due to the health of his wife, Melissa.
He and his wife have three children together.
Sasse highlighted how he grew closer with his family in the time he stepped away from public life, and listed his children’s accomplishments.
“I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,” the former lawmaker wrote. “One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. 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.”
