What's The Life Expectancy Of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer? Former Sen. Ben Sasse Shares Tough News

When former United States Senator Ben Sasse shared the sad news on X just a few days before Christmas 2025 that he had stage IV pancreatic cancer, he was brutally blunt about his prognosis. In the post, he explained that his diagnosis was "a death sentence." 

Regrettably, Sasse wasn't overstating the seriousness of his condition. Even when all stages of pancreatic cancer are combined, the five-year life expectancy for patients hovers at around 13%, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). But for those with stage IV cancer, the five-year survival dips to 3%. (Alex Trebek was another public figure who openly battled with pancreatic cancer until his death from the condition.) The American Cancer Society explains that the reason for such poor outcomes lies in the fact that pancreatic cancer is rarely caught early. (Around 80% of pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed in a later stage.)

What makes pancreatic cancer tough to detect? Most people with pancreatic cancer experience few early warning signs. It's only when the cancer has spread to other regional or distant body parts that they exhibit nagging symptoms such as unexpected weight loss, abdominal or back discomfort, extreme itching, and jaundice. At that point, they may seek medical attention only to learn their pancreatic cancer has metastasized, making it much harder to treat. A 2020 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that when pancreatic cancer was caught in its earliest form, the five-year survival expectancy skyrocketed to almost 84%.

To improve patient outlooks and outcomes, as well as provide more treatment choices for people with pancreatic cancer, oncology surgeon Dr. Matthew Katz recommended to MD Anderson that patients take any physical health changes seriously. "Don't dismiss these symptoms, particularly if they're persistent or in the elderly," said Dr. Katz. "While they may turn out to be caused by something other than pancreatic cancer, they're worth evaluating."

Despite being diagnosed with one of the more painful fatal conditions that is predicted to be the second-leading cause of all cancer deaths by 2030, Sasse vowed that he's "not going down without a fight," acknowledging the progress that scientists have made on the cancer front. Indeed, some newer cancer treatment options like immunotherapy, which Sasse named, and drugs have shown limited promise in slowing down pancreatic cancer, but most aren't considered fully effective yet (via MD Anderson). However, PanCAN reported in 2020 that genetically based tumor treatments have successfully helped some pancreatic patients add about a year — and hope — to their lives.