Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with “metastatic stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is dying.”
“Advanced pancreatic cancer is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I had it before last week – we all did,” Sasse, 53, wrote on X.
“I’m blessed to have wonderful siblings and six real brothers. As one of them said, ‘Sure, you’re busy, but we’re all busy.’ Death is an evil thief, and that bastard stalks us all.”
Sasse represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2023, then resigned as the 13th president of the University of Florida. Last year, he resigned as university president to focus on caring for his family after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.
In the Senate, Sasse was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
His frequent criticism of Trump drew the president’s ire. Trump called the Nebraska Republican a “grandstanding, disrespected senator” at a 2022 rally.
“I have more to say. I will not give in without a fight,” Sasse wrote on Tuesday.
“Science has made amazing advances over the past few years in areas like immunotherapy, and that’s part of God’s grace. Death and dying are not the same—the process of dying is still worth experiencing. There’s a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’m committed to doing my part to play this irreverent tape.”
Although pancreatic cancer accounts for only about 3% of all new cancer cases in the United States, it is the third leading cause of cancer death and is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer death by the end of this decade.
Catching pancreatic cancer early may help increase a patient’s chances of survival, but there is currently no single recommended blood test to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer.
“The vast majority of patients with pancreatic cancer have advanced disease when they are diagnosed. So, 80 percent or more of patients present with advanced disease, and we know at the time they present that we are unlikely to be able to cure this cancer,” said Dr. Brian Wolpin, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told CNN last year.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.
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