Former Sen. Ben Sasse announces he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is ‘gonna die’
Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer” and will die.
“Advanced pancreas is a disgusting thing; it’s a death sentence. But before last week, I already had a death sentence; we all do,” said Sasse, 53. wrote to x.
“I’ve been blessed with wonderful siblings and a half-dozen friends who are truly brothers. As one of them said, ‘Sure, you guys have the shifts, but we all work the shifts.’ Death is an evil thief and that bastard is stalking us all.”
Sasse previously represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2023. resignation He will serve as the 13th president of the University of Florida. HE resigned as university president He focused on taking care of his family after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy last year.
In the Senate, Sasse was one of them seven Republicans The person who voted to convict US President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. January 6, 2021, rebellion At the US Capitol.
His frequent criticism of Trump drew the president’s ire; Trump called the Nebraska Republican a “grandstanding, little-respected senator” at a 2022 rally.
“I still have a lot to say. I won’t go down without a fight,” Sasse wrote on Tuesday.
“Part of God’s grace is found in the jaw-dropping advances that science has made in the last few years in immunotherapy and many other fields. Death and dying are not the same thing; the process of dying is still something to be experienced. I enthusiastically embrace a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I promised to do my part to examine the profane tape.”
Although pancreatic cancer is not only about 3% of all new cancer cases In the United States, this third leading cause of cancer deaths And It is expected to be the second most common cause of cancer deaths. at the end of this decade.
Detecting pancreatic cancer early can help increase a patient’s chances of survival, but there is currently no single blood test recommended for finding early pancreatic cancers.
Gastrointestinal Cancer Center director Dr. “The vast majority of patients presenting with pancreatic cancer have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. So, while we know that 80% or more of patients present with advanced disease, we know that the likelihood of us being able to cure the cancer is very low,” said Brian Wolpin. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he told CNN last year.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jacqueline Howard contributed to this story.
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