{"id":46026,"date":"2026-04-09T20:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=46026"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:17:09","slug":"ex-sen-ben-sasse-opens-up-about-life-with-stage-4-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=46026","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Sen. Ben Sasse opens up about life with Stage 4 cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse is opening up about living with what he describes as a \u201cdefinite death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 54-year-old father of three was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/23\/us-news\/ex-sen-ben-sasse-announces-stage-4-pancreatic-cancer-diagnosis-says-he-is-gonna-die\/\">diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer<\/a> last year, an aggressive disease he\u2019s fighting with an experimental drug that has left his skin bloody and \u201cbubbling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s a hard fact: Ben Sasse\u2019s torso is chock-full of tumors,\u201d the ex-Nebraska lawmaker recalled a doctor telling him after a full-body scan, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/09\/opinion\/ben-sasse-death-pancreatic-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an interview with The New York Times<\/a> published Thursday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse represented Nebraska in the US Senate from 2015 to early 2023. <span class=\"credit\">Pool\/Sipa USA via Reuters Connec<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Considered one of the hardest cancers to detect and treat, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/05\/health\/this-change-to-your-skin-can-signal-one-of-the-deadliest-cancers\/\">pancreatic cancer<\/a> is also incredibly lethal. In December, doctors told him he had three to four months to live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m at Day 99 or something since then, and I\u2019m doing a heck of a lot better than I was doing at Christmas,\u201d Sasse said. <\/p>\n<p>But it hasn\u2019t been easy. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Sasse is enrolled in a clinical trial for daraxonrasib, a targeted therapy designed to slow pancreatic cancer by blocking the mutant proteins that drive the disease in most patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI take it orally, but it\u2019s a nasty drug,\u201d he told the Times. \u201cIt causes crazy stuff like my body can\u2019t grow skin and so I bleed all out of a whole bunch of parts of me that shouldn\u2019t be bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sasse, who represented Nebraska in the Senate from 2015 to 2023, said his skin and face feel \u201cnuclear.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Recently, a pharmacist who was taken aback by his appearance asked if doctors had done something \u201celectrical\u201d to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t even know what that is, but either acid or electric shocks produce a face that looks this hideous,\u201d Sasse said with a laugh.   <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sasse is undergoing an experimental treatment to slow the progression of the aggressive cancer. <span class=\"credit\">Ben Sasse\/X<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In January 2023, Sasse left the Senate to become the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/11\/01\/ben-sasse-approved-as-university-of-florida-president\/\">president of the University of Florida<\/a>. He stepped down at the end of July 2024 after his wife, Melissa, was diagnosed with epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse sought medical attention last year after experiencing intense back pain, which he later learned was caused by pancreatic tumors pressing against his spinal column.<\/p>\n<p>The disease occurs when cells in the pancreas \u2014 a gland tucked behind the stomach that regulates blood sugar and produces digestive enzymes \u2014 begin to mutate and multiply uncontrollably, forming a tumor, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/diseases\/15806-pancreatic-cancer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Early-stage pancreatic tumors often don\u2019t appear on imaging tests, which is why many people, including Sasse, don\u2019t discover the disease until it has already spread.<\/p>\n<p>After his diagnosis, doctors put him on 55 milligrams of morphine, which he said made him feel \u201chigh as a kite\u201d but helped ease his suffering.<\/p>\n<p>In the months since, Sasse said daraxonrasib has shrunk the tumors enough that he was able to lower his morphine dose, reducing the nausea and fatigue that came with the stronger medication.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he takes about 30 milligrams a day and said his pain is down roughly 80% from where it started \u2014 even as he still deals with a bloody face and \u201cstrong waves of desire to puke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sasse said the tumor volume in his torso is down 76%, though he does not expect the drug to lead to a miraculous recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Even as his pancreatic tumors improve, he explained, the disease had already spread so widely that doctors are unlikely to ever fully catch up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s too much Whac-A-Mole,\u201d Sasse told the Times. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sasse has three children, ages 24, 22 and 14. <span class=\"credit\">The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even so, the medical community is closely watching daraxonrasib.<\/p>\n<p>Pancreatic cancer is resistant to many standard cancer treatments, making it notoriously difficult to treat. As a result, it is highly fatal, ranking as the <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10243302\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">third leading cause of cancer deaths<\/a> in the US.  <\/p>\n<p>Between 2015 and 2021, just 13.3% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were still alive five years later, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/seer.cancer.gov\/statfacts\/html\/pancreas.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Cancer Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Revolution Medicines is hopeful that its drug might be able to help shift that tide. <\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/news.cancerconnect.com\/new-clinical-data-for-daraxonrasib-sets-stage-for-global-phase-3-trial-in-metastatic-pancreatic-cancer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">early trials for advanced pancreatic cancer<\/a>, about one-third of patients taking daraxonrasib saw their tumors shrink, and most had their cancer stay stable or improve.<\/p>\n<p>Patients lived a median of 13 to 16 months, longer than the seven to eight months usually expected with standard chemotherapy.<\/p>\n<p>When daraxonrasib was combined with standard chemo, more than half of patients had their tumors shrink, and 90% had their disease under control.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Daraxonrasib is a new therapy showing promise for treating certain pancreatic cancers.  <span class=\"credit\">Creative Cat Studio \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ir.revmed.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/revolution-medicines-shares-new-clinical-results-supporting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Early results<\/a> also suggest that patients taking daraxonrasib as their first treatment may respond even better, though long-term outcomes and side effects are still being studied. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Based on those findings, the FDA in October gave daraxonrasib <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/news-events\/press-announcements\/fda-awards-first-ever-national-priority-vouchers-nine-sponsors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one of the first vouchers<\/a> in a new fast-track program aimed at getting promising drugs to patients faster than ever.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are certain diseases where getting access to promising drugs may mean the difference between life and death, and pancreatic cancer is an example of this,\u201d said Dr. Christopher Lieu, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are not enough treatment options, and our patients don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting years for any regulatory agency to review data,\u201d he explained in <a href=\"https:\/\/news.cuanschutz.edu\/department-of-medicine\/fda-drug-pancreatic-cancer-daraxonrasib\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an interview<\/a> with the school\u2019s Department of Medicine. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that the FDA has a pathway for accelerated review is important and exciting, but it\u2019s a new program, so I think there\u2019s still a lot we\u2019ll have to learn from it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In 2026, an <a href=\"https:\/\/pancan.org\/press-releases\/pancreatic-cancer-deaths-continue-to-rise-five-year-survival-rate-remains-stalled-at-13-while-all-cancers-combined-reach-milestone-70\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">estimated 67,530 Americans<\/a> will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 52,740 are expected to die from the disease.<\/p>\n<p>For Sasse, the thought of leaving his wife and children behind brings a heavy weight.<\/p>\n<p>But he said he has found some serenity \u2014 in his Christian faith and in the idea of death itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve continued to feel a peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate,\u201d he told The Times. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should call it a wicked thief. And yet, it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/09\/health\/ex-sen-ben-sasse-opens-up-about-life-with-stage-4-cancer\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse is opening up about living with what he describes as a \u201cdefinite death sentence.\u201d The 54-year-old father of three was diagnosed&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}