Former University of Florida president Ben Sasse on Tuesday said he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Sasse, 53, made the announcement on social media, saying he learned of the disease last week and is “now marching to the beat of a faster drummer.”
“This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase,” Sasse wrote. “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die."
Friends-
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) December 23, 2025
This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.
Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence.…
In the post, Sasse said he was "not going down without a fight."
"One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more," he wrote. "Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.”
Sasse was elected to the U.S. Senate in Nebraska in 2014 and reelected in 2020. He resigned in 2023 to serve as UF's 13th president after a contentious approval process.
Florida selected Sasse as the sole finalist for the job under a new state law passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that allowed the process to take place in secrecy.
ALSO READ: Ben Sasse disputes a report of inappropriate spending as UF president
Sasse left UF after 17 months after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.
After stepping down, Fresh Take Florida reported Sasse spent more than $1.3 million on catering for lavish dinners, tailgates and social events — nearly double what his predecessor spent —i ncluding a holiday party that cost about $900 per guest and featured a $38,610 sushi bar.
The spending, along with reports of millions more paid to high-dollar consultants and Republican former staffers in remote jobs, triggered bipartisan scrutiny, new oversight rules and a state audit. Sasse disputed the reports.
Sasse's political positions – including his opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriages – were deeply troubling to some students and faculty on the campus in one of Florida's most progressive cities.
However, he has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, and he was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict the former president of “incitement of insurrection” after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
ALSO READ: Ben Sasse resigns unexpectedly as UF president, citing wife’s health
Sasse drew national attention to the university over its aggressive handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Campus police arrested nine protesters, including six UF students who were suspended for years and banned from campus. In a statement, UF said it was “not a day care,” and Sasse defended the actions on cable news programs.
Sasse, who has degrees from Harvard, St. John’s College and Yale, worked as an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush. He then served as president of Midland University before he ran for the Senate. Midland is a small Christian university in eastern Nebraska.
Sasse and his wife have three children.
