Former U.S. senator and university president Ben Sasse said that his tumors have shrunk by 80%, according to an interview with Sola Media published Wednesday. Sasse said the improvement likely won’t change his terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
The disease has metastasized to five systems in his body, including his liver and lungs. However, a marker of cancer levels in his blood was down 99% in five months, he said.
The change was due to his participation in a clinical trial of a new cancer drug called daraxonrasib, he said. Sasse told Sola Media that the drug caused him to bleed from his head and hair follicles, but he considered that side effect to be small. Sasse also shared that spots on his lungs recently grew slightly, but he emphasized that the news of his tumors shrinking outweighed the “not ideal” situation of his lungs.
Sasse didn’t speculate on how much longer the new treatment might help him live, but he said he’d already lived more than double the doctors’ original 90-day estimate. He was grateful for extra Sunday services and family dinners, he said in the 40-minute interview with Sola Media.
This story originally appeared in WORLD. © 2026, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Good for you, Ben Sasse! Keep fighting son, every cancer cell you kill is a win for all of those fighting cancer.
Never give up and savor every second of your life. God bless you and your family. I am praying that God shares his courage, strength and wisdom with you and gives you comfort in the knowledge that He is walking with you.
Encouraging news! My friend has pancreatic cancer. We were giving 2 months. That was 5 years ago. It had spread to her lungs, chemo not doing job. She is starting on this drug in 2 weeks. Would like to visit with Ben. She is almost 81. Praise God for blessing us and giving knowledge and wisdom. He is the great Physician!
Ben,
You are an inspiration to me and to millions of others who have followed your life’s story. I am a left leaning liberal. Your decency and forthrightness crosses boundaries and labels. It would be an honor for me to vote for you. Character matters Ben. You are reminding us all of that. God bless!
They blocked my original comment.
Elizabeth Black should be ashamed for writing such a callous article. Very blatantly biased.
Mr. Sasse is a cancer patient show him sympathy and respect.
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How is this article callous? Give an example, please.