{"id":2590001,"date":"2026-04-13T07:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cancer-stricken-former-republican-sen-ben-sasse-vows-to-avoid-being-a-pansy-a-as-life-slips-away\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T07:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:38:34","slug":"cancer-stricken-former-republican-sen-ben-sasse-vows-to-avoid-being-a-pansy-a-as-life-slips-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cancer-stricken-former-republican-sen-ben-sasse-vows-to-avoid-being-a-pansy-a-as-life-slips-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer-Stricken Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse Vows To Avoid Being A &#8216;Pansy A**&#8217; As Life Slips Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcancer-stricken-former-republican-sen-ben-sasse-vows-to-avoid-being-a-pansy-a-as-life-slips-away%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2590001&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse has been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-4 pancreatic cancer and says he intends to face his illness with hope and clarity. In a December 23, 2025 post, he disclosed a grim prognosis, citing a rough three- to four-month life expectancy and a five<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-number-one-skin-cancer-symptom-that-people-ignore\/\" title=\"The Number One Skin ... Symptom That People Ignore\">-year survival rate<\/a> of about 3.2 percent, according to Johns Hopkins data. He is currently participating in a targeted clinical trial in Houston, taking darxonrasib, which he describes as having severe side effects such as skin issues and bleeding. Sasse spoke with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat about making peace with his turn in life, emphasizing that suffering can be sanctifying and expressing gratitude for the blessings he still has. He reflected on his Christian faith, his political career, and the meaning he seeks to derive from the days he has left, while acknowledging the difficulty of death and the longing to protect his family.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Despite being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, former Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse has not given up on living, telling the host of a New York Times podcast Thursday that he intends to face the unknown awaiting him with hope and clarity.<\/p>\n<p>The 54-year-old married father of three <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BenSasse\/status\/2003483746540965891\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> in a Dec. 23, 2025, post to X that he received a &ldquo;death sentence&rdquo;: his metastasized affliction &mdash; diagnosed in 64,000 Americans annually &mdash; has a five<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jimmy-buffetts-cause-of-death-revealed\/\" title=\"Jimmy Buffett&#039;s ... cause disclosed.\">-year relative survival rate<\/a> of approximately 3.2 percent, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/pancreatic-cancer\/pancreatic-cancer-prognosis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to a Johns Hopkins Medicine article.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Still, I&rsquo;ve got less time than I&rsquo;d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Friends-<\/p>\n<p>This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I&rsquo;ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.<\/p>\n<p>Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it&rsquo;s a death sentence.&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BenSasse\/status\/2003483746540965891?\">December 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Having learned of his condition just weeks before Christmas, Sasse, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/Reformed%20Lutheran%E2%80%93Calvinist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reformed Lutheran&ndash;Calvinist<\/a>, framed his announcement in terms of making peace with his life&rsquo;s turn. He acknowledged the seriousness of his situation during &ldquo;a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what&rsquo;s to come.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To be clear, optimism is great, and it&rsquo;s absolutely necessary, but it&rsquo;s insufficient,&rdquo; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you&rsquo;re not going to walk them down the aisle, nor telling your mom and pops they&rsquo;re gonna bury their son.&nbsp; A well-lived life demands more reality &mdash; stiffer stuff.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sasse, his face bloodied and peeling without healing &mdash; reportedly side effects of his medication &mdash; nevertheless interspersed his frank reflection when speaking with Ross Douthat, the conservative host of the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/interesting-times\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Interesting Times<\/a>&rdquo; podcast, with humor and openness.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I did not decide to die in public. I obviously ended up with a calling to die. In mid-December I got a three- to four-month life expectancy, and I&rsquo;m at Day 99 or something since then, and I&rsquo;m doing a heck of a lot better than I was doing at Christmas,&rdquo; he began.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But even at three to four months left to live, you have to redeem the time. There&rsquo;s only so many bits of unsolicited advice I can give my children,&rdquo; he added, referencing how the former lawmaker has been &ldquo;doing a lot of talking,&rdquo; such as hosting his &ldquo;Not Dead Yet&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/multimedia\/not-dead-yet-introduction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">podcast<\/a> and speaking with a number of journalists and interviewers about his situation.<\/p>\n<p>Before his diagnosis, Sasse had been training for triathlons to stay fit before <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >prolonged intense back pain prompted<\/a> him to seek medical attention. Full-body scans soon determined he had &ldquo;five forms of cancer: lymphoma, vascular, lung cancer, bad liver cancer, and pancreatic, where it originated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Here&rsquo;s a hard fact: Ben Sasse&rsquo;s torso is chock-full of tumors,&rsquo;&rdquo; Sasse recalled his doctor breaking the news to him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was like, &lsquo;OK, you came in with the real stuff.&rsquo; So, I have pancreatic cancer &mdash; Stage 4, already metastasized. They told me right away on Day 1, &lsquo;This is not operable, you&rsquo;re way post-surgical.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sasse had been living in Florida &mdash; &ldquo;Nebraska&rsquo;s emotional home&rdquo; &mdash; but resides in Austin, Texas to participate in his targeted clinical trial in Houston twice weekly.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse takes <a href=\"https:\/\/ir.revmed.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/revolution-medicines-s-new-clinical-results-supporting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">daraxonrasib<\/a>, a &ldquo;nasty&rdquo; drug by Revolution Medicines, orally, rather than as an injection. &ldquo;It causes crazy stuff like my body can&rsquo;t grow skin, and so I bleed all out of a whole bunch of parts of me that shouldn&rsquo;t be bleeding,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yeah, you look terrible,&rdquo; Douthat observed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; he responded before describing how his hospice doctor prepared him to face his symptoms. &ldquo;&lsquo;When you&rsquo;re dying of an abdominal disease, you&rsquo;ve got an algorithm that&rsquo;s managing four variables: You have tumor-driven pain, you have cancer- and treatment-driven nausea, you&rsquo;re managing a diarrhea-to-constipation continuum, and you&rsquo;ve got energy and fatigue.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sasse also reflected on his Christian faith, saying he was not angry at God for apparently not answering prayers for healing. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the weaving together of the tapestry of full redemption should look like,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I know going through the period of suffering that [what] I&rsquo;m going through is a benefit because it is a winnowing.&rdquo; He went on to express gratitude for the blessings of his life and the value of his waning days on earth.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This suffering is not salvific, but it&rsquo;s sanctifying, and I&rsquo;m grateful for it,&rdquo; Sasse noted. He also described his cancer as a &ldquo;stake against my delusional self-idolatry&rdquo; in temptations of his soul to sinfully exhibit pride. He then went on to identify the meaningful hope of his life:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>I was incredibly blessed to be quickly at peace. I kept hearing the Pauline phrase, &ldquo;To live is Christ, to die is gain.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Death is terrible. We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be. But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It&rsquo;s an enemy, but it&rsquo;s a final enemy, and there will then be no more tears.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world. So, I did not feel great fear about my death. I didn&rsquo;t want the pain I was going through. I didn&rsquo;t want to be a pansy ass in the final moments.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When asked if he was ready to die, Sasse expressed that he did not feel so, but that he had no choice but to embrace the ultimate end Jesus Christ offers in Scripture.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He says, &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t keep the children from me.&rsquo; And we&rsquo;re told that we get to approach the Almighty, we get to approach the divine and call him, &lsquo;Daddy,&rsquo; &lsquo;Abba,&rsquo; &lsquo;Father?&rsquo; That&rsquo;s pretty glorious. And I know that that&rsquo;s what I need,&rdquo; Sasse concluded, prompting a visibly moved Douthat to draw the interview to a close.<\/p>\n<p>After previously working in the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, Sasse was elected Nebraska&rsquo;s junior senator in November 2014, joining Republican Sen. Deb Fischer.<\/p>\n<p>While representing the Cornhusker State in Congress, Sasse advocated for overhauling the <a href=\"https:\/\/outreach.senate.gov\/iqextranet\/view_newsletter.aspx?id=100819&amp;c=SenSasse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Affordable Care Act<\/a>. He supported and pushed for the disclosure of foreign influence in lobbying and introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act<\/a>. At times clashing with populist factions of the GOP, he earned a career-high 87 percent lifetime <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/members\/S001197\/117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">score<\/a> (with the average Senate Republican scoring 78 percent) from the conservative Heritage Action.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I&rsquo;m very sorry to hear this Ben. May God bless you and your family.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JDVance\/status\/2003495529033113848?\">December 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">So very saddened to hear the news about Ben Sasse this morning. I know he will face this difficult challenge anchored in his strong Christian faith and bolstered by the love of family and friends. Ben, I am keeping you and your loved ones in my prayers. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6c5uoIXSSB\">https:\/\/t.co\/6c5uoIXSSB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorFischer\/status\/2003494961719967853?\">December 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Something on the order of 60 times, my state party convened or county parties in Nebraska convened to condemn me for not being Trumpy or whatever,&rdquo; he reflected.<\/p>\n<p>While he voted to acquit President Donald Trump during the 2019-2020 Democrat-led impeachment effort over the president&rsquo;s dealings with Ukraine, Sasse joined six other Republican senators in voting to convict him over his role in the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenSasse\/status\/1346941926206025730\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse also notably <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/sasse-senate-trump-republicans\/2020\/10\/15\/644ece10-0f18-11eb-b1e8-16b59b92b36d_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">criticized<\/a> Trump over his apparent character, as well as rhetoric about white supremacists, election integrity, fiscal actions, treatment of women, and foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BenSasse\/status\/1578116999640743938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resigned<\/a> from Congress Jan. 8, 2023 to become the president of the University of Florida; he previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.campusreform.org\/article\/sasse-to-resign-as-midland-university-president-following-senate-primary-victory-\/5640\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">served<\/a> as the president of Midland Lutheran College from December 2010 to December 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Citing his wife&rsquo;s health, Sasse <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/2024\/07\/sasse-announces-resignation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resigned<\/a> from that position effective July 31, 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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The prognosis is grave, with a five-year relative survival rate around 3.2 percent, yet Sasse says he intends to face the future with hope and clarity. He announced the diagnosis in a Dec. 23, 2025 post on X, describing the diagnosis as a \u201cdeath sentence\u201d for a man who has always been driven to work and build, and noting the difficulty for him as a husband and father.<\/p>\n<p>In a conversation with Ross Douthat on a New York Times podcast, Sasse discussed his condition and how he\u2019s handling it. He explained that full-body scans revealed multiple cancers, including pancreatic cancer as the origin, and doctors told him early on that surgery would not be an option. He is in Austin, Texas for ongoing treatment and travels to Houston twice weekly for a targeted clinical trial, taking an oral drug called daraxonrasib. He described severe side effects from the treatment, such as skin problems and bleeding. He also mentioned a hospice doctor\u2019s framework for his symptoms, which covers tumor pain, treatment- and cancer-related nausea, digestive issues, and energy or fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>Spiritually, Sasse has framed his illness through his Christian faith. He says he\u2019s not angry at God for not answering prayers for a cure and believes there is meaning in suffering. He spoke about trying to redeem the time he has left and about the importance of modeling grace for his family, including his daughters. He described finding peace and gratitude in his waning days, viewing death as a terrible but ultimate enemy that will be overcome, and expressing hope in the Resurrection and in a renewed world.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse\u2019s background includes a long career in public life. He was Nebraska\u2019s junior senator after being elected in 2014, advocated for healthcare reform and greater transparency in lobbying, and supported protections for abortion survivors. He often clashed with populist factions within the GOP and earned a strong conservative rating from Heritage Action. He voted to convict Donald Trump in the Jan. 6, 2021 impeachment trial. He left Congress in January 2023 to become president of the University of Florida and later resigned that role in 2024 for family reasons related to his wife\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<p>This summary reflects material reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2590002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7609.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[77468,8047,3911],"class_list":["post-2590001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ben-sasse-2","tag-cancer","tag-republican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7609.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590001"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590005,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590001\/revisions\/2590005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2590002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}