Former Senator Ben Sasse has recently opened up about his cancer battle and reflected on his life following Stage 4 pancreatic cancer revelation.
In an interview with The New York Times’s Ross Douthat, the 54-year-old discussed that he was initially given a life expectancy of only three to four months, as he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
He stated, “In mid-December I got a three- to four-month life expectancy, and I’m at Day 99 or something since then, and I’m doing a heck of a lot better than I was doing at Christmas.”
“They told me over the course of the next couple of days that I already have five forms of cancer: lymphoma, vascular, lung cancer, bad liver cancer and pancreatic cancer, where it originated,” the former senator added. “So, it was pretty clear that we’re dealing with a short number of months left to live,” he added.
Sasse represented Nebraska in the Senate for eight years, before resigning to become the president of the University of Florida (UF).
He resigned from UF in July 2024 due to his wife Melissa’s recent epilepsy diagnosis.
Furthermore, Sasse revealed that his pain has now reduced by 80% from the moment he was first diagnosed.
While discussing his aggravating symptoms, Sasse mentioned that he deals with nausea, and bleeding on his face because of his consumption of the medicine daraxonrasib.
Sasse also stated he felt a “heaviness” with respect to realizing he has less time left with his family.
However, the Nebraska Republican said he has “continued to feel a peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate.”
