OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
1:53 PM – Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Former Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 terminal pancreatic cancer, a revelation that has prompted an outpouring of support and heartfelt responses on social media.
“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, 53, posted on X.
This also follows Sasse’s July 2024 announcement, when he explained on social media that his wife Melissa had been diagnosed with epilepsy.
In his latest social media post, which quickly made headlines, the 53-year-old former Nebraska lawmaker bluntly described his diagnosis as “a death sentence,” while expressing his deep love for his family and close friends.
“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”
“Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all,” the senator added. “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.”
An outpouring of support for Sasse began quickly circulating on X, with Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other fellow conservatives reaching out.
“I’m very sorry to hear this Ben. May God bless you and your family” wrote JD Vance in a reply to the announcement.
Dan Bongino wrote “I am so sorry to hear this. May God bless you and your family with strength during this extremely difficult time.”
Sasse served in the Senate from 2015 to 2023 before being named president of the University of Florida. However, he stepped down from that role last year after his wife Melissa was diagnosed with epilepsy.
“My wife Melissa’s recent epilepsy diagnosis and a new batch of memory issues have been hard, but we’re facing it together,” he wrote in last year’s statement. “Our two wonderful daughters are in college, but our youngest is just turning 13. Gator Nation needs a president who can keep charging hard, Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights. I need to step back and rebuild more stable household systems for a time.”
Sasse and his wife have three children.
Their eldest daughter was recently commissioned into the U.S. Air Force and is progressing through flight training, their second daughter graduated from college early and has begun her post-college life, and their youngest, a 14-year-old son, is just starting to learn to drive.
Sasse spoke warmly about his family, expressing deep gratitude for the time they’ve shared and the support they provide as they face this difficult moment together.
“I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,” Sasse 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.”
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