Nicole Hazen, wife of Arizona Diamondbacks general manager, dies at 45
Nicole Hazen, the wife of Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, has died from complications due to glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. She was 45.
She was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago. The family has four sons, Charlie, John, Teddy and Sam. The team sent a statement confirming that Hazen died on Thursday.
"Nicole lived her life and loved her family with fierceness and devotion," the Hazen family said in a statement. "She spent every day in the service of others as a mother, wife and educator advocating for goodness. From our family, we remain forever grateful for the love, support and random acts of kindness bestowed upon us for the last two years and four months. We would not have been able to walk down this road, with her, without the help and generosity of our community."
Mike Hazen announced he was taking a partial leave of absence last year to help take care of his wife and family.
Glioblastoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the brain and spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It's the type of cancer that plagued late senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy as well as Beau Biden, the late son of President Joe Biden.
The exact underlying cause of glioblastoma is unknown in most cases, but in some, it's linked to genetic syndromes: neurofibromatosis type 1, Turcot syndrome and Li Fraumeni syndrome, according to NIH.