Ben Sasse, a Nebraska former senator, spoke on his cancer experience

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse reflected on his cancer diagnosis and treatment in an interview today. Sasse was diagnosed in December of 2025.

Since then, Sasse said he has learned a lot about pancreatic cancer. He said his condition was undruggable until the surfacing of a new experiment gave him hope.

“My son just turned 15. He seems to be doing great but I feel like a 15-year-old boy could fake it even if he wasn’t,” Sasse said. “I feel heaviest for him. I don’t doubt the providence of this. But, I’m definitely sad that, who knows when, he’s without a dad too young.”

When Sasse was diagnosed in December, he was given three months to live. Sasse said the experimental treatment he has been receiving has given him unexpected time.

Melissa Sasse, Ben’s wife, said the only thing she could do was cry and pray when she first heard the news.

“We hugged, we cried for maybe five or ten minutes and we prayed,” Melissa said. “We said ‘Lord, we trust you’. That’s all it was.”