Ben Sasse is on extended time. He credits “providence, prayer and a miracle drug.”

Ben Sasse is “on extended time.” The former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer in December and was told he had three or four months to live.

He credits “providence, prayer and a miracle drug” — a clinical trial that has shrunk his tumors by 76% — for buying him more time. Patients who typically would have had about six months to live are living around 13 months with Revolution Medicines’ daraxonrasib. 

Sasse talked at length about his diagnosis, his family and his faith in an interview with Scott Pelley, airing Sunday on “60 Minutes.” You can watch even more of their conversation in a special edition of “Things That Matter,” which will be available Sunday night on Paramount+, CBSNews.com, and YouTube.

The former senator also had plenty to say about the state of American politics, and Congress in particular. 

“Neither of these parties really have very big or good ideas about 2030 or 2050,” he said. “The Congress is not wrestling with bigger important questions right now.”