Former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse has announced that he has been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, delivering the news in a raw and deeply personal message that pulled no punches about what lies ahead.
“Friends — this is a tough note to write… Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die,” Sasse wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
He did not soften the reality of the diagnosis. “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 continued, framing the news through faith, mortality, and perspective rather than denial.
Friends-
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.…
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) December 23, 2025
Sasse, 53, served in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2023 and later became president of the University of Florida. The dad of three also has a history with President Donald Trump. After the 2021 Capitol riot, Sasse lashed out against Trump. In an interview, he revealed that Trump was “delighted” watching the Capitol riot. It’s little wonder that he later cast his vote alongside six other Republican senators to impeach him.
According to ABC News, pancreatic cancer at stage four means the disease has spread to distant organs, making it the most advanced and deadliest form of the illness.
Still, Sasse made clear that he won’t give up. “I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,” he wrote later in the same post, pointing to advances in medicine and the difference, as he put it, between death itself and the process of dying. “Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived,” Sasse said.
Dear Gator Nation and cherished friends,
This isn’t an easy note to write but wanted to give you an update on our family. As many of you know, my wife Melissa suffered an aneurysm and series of strokes in 2007. Back then, the docs prepared us for the worst, but – in God’s…
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) July 19, 2024
The announcement comes about 18 months after Sasse stepped away from public leadership to focus on his family, particularly his wife Melissa’s health. In July 2024, he resigned as president of the University of Florida, explaining at the time that his family was facing mounting medical challenges.
“In recent months, Melissa has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been struggling with a new batch of memory issues,” Sasse tweeted at the time. “It’s been hard, but we’ve faced it together.”
He said the decision to step down came after prayer and family discussion, especially with three children still at home. “Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights,” he wrote.
I often think back to these comments about Trump from then-Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) two day after Jan. 6:
“He wanted chaos on television.”
“Trump was walking around the White House confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited as he was, as you had rioters… pic.twitter.com/2dCZcrvWkZ
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) June 9, 2025
In his cancer announcement, Sasse returned often to family, describing the past year as one of recalibration rather than retreat. “Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad,” he wrote.
He spoke at length about his children, his siblings, and close friends, calling them a daily reminder of grace amid grim odds. One friend, he shared, told him, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.”
According to BBC News, Sasse chose to make the announcement during Advent intentionally, grounding the timing in his Christian faith. “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,” he wrote.
Ben Sasse family: All on his wife Melissa and kids amid stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosishttps://t.co/0nwELcmg3b pic.twitter.com/U6Aue4ahPC
— LAKSHY DREAM FOUNDATION GLOBAL NEWS (@GlLakshy) December 23, 2025
“Optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient,” Sasse added. “A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff.”
Despite the finality of the diagnosis, the tone of the message is not one of despair. Sasse wrote that his family is embracing humor, treatment, and time together — not pretending the outcome will change, but refusing to waste what remains.
“With gravelly-but-hopeful voices,” he signed off, alongside his wife and children.
It is not a political statement, or a farewell tour. It is simply a man naming the truth of his life as it now stands — and choosing, deliberately, how to live inside it.
