Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, told NPR that he has metastatic stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is being treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Sasse said he is participating in a clinical trial that has reduced his tumor volume and that doctors have given him a limited prognosis.
Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse said he has metastatic stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is undergoing treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
In an interview with NPR host Steve Inskeep published March 6, 2026, Sasse said he began experiencing back pain around Halloween and later underwent full-body scans on Dec. 14. He said his doctors told him his “torso is chock-full of tumors,” and that he was initially given a three- to four-month life expectancy.
Sasse told NPR he is now enrolled in what he described as “a really interesting clinical trial” that is shrinking his tumor volume “pretty rapidly.” He said he was later told there was “a 30% chance” he could live “the better part of a year.”
With what he described as limited time, Sasse said he decided to pursue a long-deferred idea: starting a podcast with journalist Chris Stirewalt. In the NPR interview, Sasse and Stirewalt discussed possible names before settling on “Not Dead Yet,” a reference to Monty Python.
During the conversation, Sasse framed his illness in philosophical terms, saying, “I think, yeah, it’s fair to say I’m a dead man walking, but in a way, we all are.” He also described humor as part of how he is coping, telling NPR, “I need to laugh at death because death is terrible, but death doesn’t get the final word.”
NPR reached Sasse at the Houston hospital between medical appointments. The segment also included brief remarks about Sasse’s views on politics and how he is approaching the months ahead while continuing treatment.
