OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse announced Tuesday morning that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, calling it a "death sentence" in his social media post.
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Pancreatic cancer is a tough cancer to treat and relatively uncommon, particularly in patients in their 50s like Sasse. However, doctors are seeing the disease more frequently in younger patients, and they don't know why.
"Because it is scary to see young people getting that - getting diagnosed with this. At earlier and earlier ages," said Dr. Kelsey Klute, a cancer specialist from the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Dr. Klute said typically, pancreatic cancer patients are in their late 60s or early 70s.
Stage 4 cancer means the cancer has spread to other organs, making it difficult to treat. Klute said pancreatic cancer is often discovered after it has spread.
"This is tricky because oftentimes we see people who have been feeling totally fine, they have some belly pain, they have a scan and we have a tumor in the pancreas that's probably been there for - who knows — a couple of years," Klute said.
The pancreas is an organ that regulates blood sugar and helps with digestion. Klute said people can live without it, but by the time the cancer is discovered, it's often too late.
"The other thing is, it doesn't tend to respond to treatments the way that other types of cancer do," Klute said.
While there are several promising drug trials in progress, the best treatment for most people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer right now is chemotherapy, which adds about a year of life for someone with a stage 4 diagnosis.
Sasse indicated in his social media statement that he intends to pursue treatment.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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