D-backs honor Nicole Hazen with $200K brain tumor research donation

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Diamondbacks Foundation presented a $200,000 donation to the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute during pregame ceremonies on Monday night at Chase Field as part of the club’s Brain Tumor Awareness Day.

Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Hazen, joined by two of his sons, John and Sam, honored the memory of his late wife, Nicole Hazen, who died from glioblastoma in 2022. The donation also recognizes continued advancements in brain tumor research and treatment.

The contribution, made alongside matching support from the Barrow Women’s Board, was presented to Dr. Nader Sanai and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, a nationally recognized leader in clinical trials and innovative treatments for glioblastoma and other aggressive brain cancers.

Through the Nicole Hazen Fund for Hope, Hazen and the Diamondbacks Foundation have donated more than $2 million toward glioblastoma research, treatment and clinical trials in Nicole Hazen’s honor.

Members of the Barrow Women’s Board participating in the ceremony included Erin Gogolak, Nancy Walker, Nancy Hanley Eriksson, Carrie Hall and Amy Cohn. Also joining the event was Catherine Ivy, whose late husband, Ben Ivy, died from glioblastoma in 2005. Catherine Ivy later helped establish the Ivy Brain Tumor Center through the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation’s support of aggressive brain cancer research.

Following the check presentation, Catherine Ivy and Tim Soukup threw the ceremonial first pitches.

Soukup was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2018 after suddenly losing his ability to speak. Under the care of Sanai and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center team, Soukup underwent a successful awake craniotomy at Barrow Neurological Institute. Although he temporarily lost the ability to speak and had to relearn how to walk, he has regained much of those abilities through rehabilitation and Barrow’s Aphasia Connections program.

Soukup continues training with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. ♦︎