Ben Sasse, the former Senator for Nebraska, has revealed that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer just a week before Christmas.
In a gut-wrenching statement, Sasse, 53, said he is ‘going to die’ after receiving the news he has metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer.
Sasse, who retired his role in politics to become the president of the University of Florida from February 2023 to July 2024, said he’s ‘not going down without a fight.’
His announcement touched upon the tragic task he endured of telling his family – including his three kids and his parents – that he’d been given ‘a death sentence.’
The father-of-three wrote on X: ‘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.’
‘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 added.
‘I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.”’
The former senator referred to death as a ‘wicked thief and the b******d pursues us all,’ admitting that he has far less time on this Earth than he would like.
Ben Sasse, the former Senator for Nebraska, revealed he was diagnosed with terminal cancer just a week before Christmas
Sasse, 53, said he is ‘going to die’ after receiving the news he has metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer. He has three children with his wife, Melissa
He revealed that the truth has been difficult to grasp, describing himself as a man wired to work and build as an individual, but who pours even more effort into being a husband and father.
In his announcement, Sasse looked back on the past few months, sharing how he has grown closer to his wife and highlighting the milestones his children have reached.
Sasse and his wife, Melissa, have three children together – a daughter in the US Air Force, a recently college-graduated daughter and a 14-year-old son.
‘There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,’ the Nebraska politician wrote.
‘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 added.
He said that while optimism is ‘insufficient,’ it remains ‘absolutely necessary’ when dealing with a diagnosis like this, especially in conversations with family about the future.
‘It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son,’ Sasse wrote.
‘A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears,’ he added. ‘Such is the calling of the pilgrim.’
Sasse, who retired his role in politics to become the president of the University of Florida from February 2023 to July 2024, said he’s ‘not going down without a fight’
Sasse told his supporters he is ‘not going down without a fight,’ and drawing strength from his loved ones, his Christian faith and the remarkable advances science has made in recent years.
He went on to stress that while his family is now confronting the realities of treatment, the more important focus is celebrating Christmas and wishing for peace, urging others to do the same.
‘With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices, Ben — and the Sasses,’ he concluded the post.
Many politicians and government officials have since taken to social media to address the tragic announcement, including Vice President JD Vance, who wrote, ‘I’m very sorry to hear this Ben. May God bless you and your family.’
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas wrote: ‘Thanks for reminding us, Ben, it is how we live not how long we live that counts.’
Sasse, first elected to the Senate in 2014 and re-elected in 2020, quickly found himself in the spotlight just weeks later as one of only seven Republican senators to vote to convict President Trump for inciting the 2021 Capitol riot during his second impeachment trial.
In January 2023, he departed the Senate to assume the presidency of the University of Florida – a decision that sparked fierce protests from students and school officials.
The backlash arose from his opposition to same-sex marriage, controversial stances on LGBTQ+ issues and what many saw as insufficient experience running a large educational institution.
But before moving to the Sunshine State, Sasse gave a remarkable farewell address in the Senate, calling out the extremes of both the left and right.
Describing the left, the father-of-three said: ‘Our history is exclusively a story of victimhood and a narrative of oppression. There can be no redemption, no progress and no hope,’ as reported by The Guardian.
As for the right, he added: ‘Victimization is a story we trumpet. Demagogues denounce the idea that there could be anything left to conserve in America.’
According to these zealots, we lost the idea of America long ago, and it is naive to think it could be recovered,’ he added.
In 2024, a year after taking the role as president, Melissa was diagnosed with epilepsy. He stepped down as university president shortly after, due to his wife’s health and her ‘new batch of memory issues,’ though he remained on the faculty.
This is a breaking news story.
