revealed in February 2021 that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and was undergoing treatment."It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep," the foundation wrote on Twitter. "At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years."Former Senator Bob Dole attends the Senate Finance Committee full hearing on the nomination of the U.S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington, DC March 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Tasos KATOPODIS (Photo credit should read TASOS KATOPODIS/AF Dole, a native of Russell, Kansas, represented the state in the U.S.