Ben Sasse: Former Senator, former President of University of Florida, and Fourth Stage Pancreatic Cancer Patient

I’ve always admired Ben Sasse, and whenever I heard him interviewed, I was impressed by his intellect, his knowledge and his passion. When I recently learned that he had been diagnosed with fourth-stage metastasized pancreatic cancer, I was curious to know how he was dealing with it. So I viewed Peter Robinson’s interview of Sasse in an Uncommon Knowledge production, and I was moved by his insight and courage in dealing with this death sentence.

The thoughts he shared about his situation were candid and direct:

‘We felt amazingly blessed that Melissa, my wife, and I immediately were at peace about all this. But because one of our three kids is still at home — our girls are 24 and 22, and my son's 14 — you felt like you had an obligation to try to fight a little bit.’ [snip] He also said that the disease has reshaped his understanding of what truly matters, describing many things he once cared deeply about as ‘pointless.’ ‘I have a bunch of tumors that have grown in and around my spinal column, and, so, I had some tough pain that was hard to make sense of,’ he said. ‘And it definitely shattered idols really fast; lots of dumb stuff that I cared too much about, and I was too self-reliant about, seemed really pointless.’

Sasse also reflected on wishing he had placed greater emphasis on attending church and observing the Sabbath.

He also remarked that he was so passionate about his work as a consultant earlier in his life that he was often gone from home several nights per week; he regretted that he had given his work such a high priority that it frequently kept him away from family.

Sasse’s diagnosis is not the only family health challenge; his wife Melissa was diagnosed recently with epilepsy. Sasse decided to leave the University of Florida to help care for her.

I admire his reflections on his own life, his dedication to his Christian faith and to his family, his determination to persevere through pain and the drug-induced nausea in order to continue to make a contribution in his time remaining.

God bless Ben Sasse and his family.