Ben Sasse, who represented Nebraska for eight years in the U.S. Senate, spoke openly this week about living — and dying — with cancer.
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Sasse announced in December he was diagnosed with metastasized Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he called “a death sentence.”
The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat interviewed Sasse for a podcast released Thursday on topics ranging from Sasse’s life in politics to the weight of his life-altering cancer diagnosis.
Even facing what Sasse described as “three or four months to live,” he said, “you have to redeem your time.”
Sasse said he had persistent back and abdominal pain last year that prompted a doctor’s visit, initially thinking it was from intense triathlon training.
After a full-body scan and multiple medical evaluations, he was told his torso was “chock-full of tumors.”
In the days following the initial Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, doctors also identified lymphoma, vascular cancer, lung cancer and what he described as “bad” liver cancer.
“Death is terrible. We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be,” Sasse said. “But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It’s an enemy — but a final enemy — and then there will be no more tears.”
The former senator and former president of the University of Florida is also a parent of three. The prospect of leaving his children behind has been the most difficult part of his reality with cancer.
“I didn’t like the idea of my 14‑year‑old not having a dad around at 16. I didn’t like the idea of my daughters, who are 22 and 24, not having a parent there to walk them down the aisle,” Sasse said.
Despite those thoughts, Sasse said there has been acceptance and an effort to make the remaining time meaningful.
“We’re all on the clock, and I wanted to have prioritized better,” Sasse said. “Whether I really only have three or four months left, or nine to 12 months, I want to prioritize better from then.”
To try and buy as much time as possible, Sasse has been taking an experimental cancer drug called daraxonrasib. As a side effect, the medication prevents normal skin growth and causes widespread bleeding in areas “that shouldn’t be bleeding,” Sasse said.
In video of the interview with Douthat, Sasse can be seen with dried blood all over his face. He said his face feels “nuclear” and he joked about frequent pharmacy visits, saying, “I’m keeping that industry employed right now.”
He said the tumor volume has decreased by 76% since starting treatment, but described the cancer as “weeds,” noting that some tumors have already “seeded.”
“Cancer sucks,” Sasse said. “But I’m pretty grateful that cancer is a stake against my delusional self‑idolatry.”
Even though he has daily pain, Sasse continues working and conducting interviews for his podcast, “Not Dead Yet.” He said the title of the podcast is a reference to a joke from comedy troupe Monty Python, indicative of Sasse’s use of humor in the face of his own mortality.
After reflecting on the “heaviness” of no longer being there for his children, Sasse said he’s also come to terms with dying.
“But I’ve continued to feel a peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate,” Sasse said. “We should call it a wicked thief. And yet, it’s pretty good that you pass through the veil of tears one time and then there will be no more tears, there will be no more cancer.”