Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager's Wife Has Cancerous Brain Tumor: 'An Ongoing Battle'

Sarah Sachs/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Sarah Sachs/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty

Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen revealed this week that his wife, Nicole Hazen, has been battling brain cancer for nearly a year.

The cancer was discovered last May after Nicole experienced a sudden seizure, Mike, 45, revealed this week, according to the Arizona Republic. Following the seizure, Nicole underwent surgery in August 2020 to remove as much of the tumor in the left side of her brain as possible and has since undergone radiation and chemotherapy.

Glioblastoma, the type of cancer Nicole was diagnosed with, is highly aggressive, and she is still experiencing seizures despite the treatments. It's the same cancer that killed Sen. John McCain in August 2018.

"This is sort of an ongoing battle," Mike said. "A lot of times the first line of defense in some of these cases hasn't always proven to be fruitful. There's a lot of new therapies and drugs coming online all the time. She'll be a candidate to be a part of those things and we're hopeful that one of those is going to prove to be the answer that she's been looking for."

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Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, kills more than 10,000 Americans a year, according to the National Brain Tumor Society. Treatment often involves surgery to remove the tumor (if possible), followed by radiation and chemotherapy, such as in Nicole's case.

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Mike said the family initially wanted to keep the diagnosis private but decided to disclose it publicly as the MLB prepares for spring training.

"As resistant as we've been to sort of talk about it, we felt like we needed to at some point," Mike told the Republic. "We felt like this was an appropriate time to talk about it and then hopefully we'll go back to our private approach to figuring out the best way to help Nicole."

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Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick offered his support to the family in a statement provided by the outlet.

"These are the challenges in our lives' journeys that put all other obstacles and concerns into true perspective," Kendrick said. "Mike will always do everything in his power to balance being a husband, father, general manager and caregiver, but we have built a baseball operations staff of depth and talent that will allow him any and all prioritizations and flexibility that he sees fit. This courageous battle is inspirational and the Hazens remain in our prayers."