‘To Die Is Gain’: Ben Sasse Faces Terminal Cancer With Unshakable Faith

Former Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse said he does not fear his death during an interview with Ross Douthat earlier this week.

Sasse said in December that he had been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, calling it a “death sentence.”

“I was incredibly blessed to be quickly at peace,” Sasse told Douthat. “I kept hearing the Pauline phrase, ‘To live is Christ, to die is gain.’”

“Death is terrible,” Sasse added. “We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be. But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It’s an enemy, but it’s a final enemy, and then there will be no more tears.”

Former Sen. Ben Sasse, who is facing terminal illness, opens up about how his faith in Jesus Christ is sustaining him during this difficult time:

“I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world, and so I did not feel great fear about my death.” pic.twitter.com/MhZrV5ULra

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 10, 2026

Sasse is now in the fourth month since his diagnosis, having been told he had three to four months to live.

“I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world, and so I did not feel great fear about my death,” Sasse said. “I didn’t want the pain I was going through, I didn’t want to be a pansy-ass in my final moments.”

Sasse had a bloody face during his interview, a side effect of a new cancer treatment, he told Douthat. The treatment is extending the lives of cancer patients, but causes bleeding, peeling, and rashes.

“It’s a nasty drug,” Sasse said. “It causes crazy stuff, like my body can’t grow skin, and so I bleed out of a whole bunch of parts of me that shouldn’t be bleeding.”

Sasse has done several interviews since his diagnosis, and he told Douthat he has “time to redeem.”

“You gotta redeem the time, and there’s only so many bits of unsolicited advice I can give my children,” Sasse said when asked why he is choosing to talk to journalists. “You journalists want to talk, and if you don’t have anybody better, I’m your man.”

Although Sasse said he has made peace with his mortality, he added that he does have regrets about having prioritized poorly throughout his life.

“We’re all on the clock, and I wanted to have prioritized better, and whether I really only had three or four months left or if I get nine to 12 months left, I wanna prioritize better from then. But in my tradition, in Christianity, the need for daily repentance is just a truth. I am broken,” Sasse said. “And I get to repent every day of my sins — of both omission and commission. And yet, at a slightly bigger level, if you’re only gonna get three or four months, you really wanna get some of your affairs in order.”

Sasse said he has felt a heaviness about the diagnosis because he does not want to leave his children without a father.

“I knew that God was not surprised by the diagnosis,” Sasse said. “There is not a maverick molecule in the universe. But I didn’t like the idea of my 14-year-old son not having a dad around at 16. I didn’t like the idea of my daughters, who are 22 and 24, not having their dad there to walk them down the aisle.”

Despite his concerns, Sasse said, he is still at peace.

“I’ve continued to feel a peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate, we should call it a wicked thief, and yet, it’s pretty good that you pass through the veil of tears one time and then there will be no more tears,” Sasse said.