Introducing The Banner Ball: A Celebration of Caring & Cures

Annual gala set for Nov. 1 with new name, venue and beneficiary

4/1/2025

Celebrating its 10th year in 2025, the Banner Health Foundation’s signature annual fundraising gala will be bigger and better than ever, with some exciting changes in store.

Previously known as the Pulse of the City Soiree, The Banner Ball: A Celebration of Caring & Cures, will take place at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. Mari Lederman and Suzi Hilton will serve as Co-Chairs.

For the first time, proceeds will benefit Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center locations in Arizona, advancing cancer care and services including diagnostic imaging and technology, clinical trials of promising new treatments, community outreach and education, and supportive programming for patients, caregivers and survivors.

More than 42,000 Arizona residents will be diagnosed with cancer this year, with more than 14,000 expected to die from the disease. While more Americans are surviving cancer compared to 30 years ago, the disease is striking young- and middle-aged adults and women more frequently, specifically women between the ages of 50 and 64. Here in Arizona, while breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men continue to be the most diagnosed cancers, melanoma and other skin cancers have an outsized impact on our residents compared to the rest of the country.

“These statistics represent a substantial rise in the burden of cancer in our communities and underscore the urgent need for continued investment in cancer screening, treatment and research,” says Matthew Callister, MD, senior physician executive for Banner MD Anderson. “We are so pleased to be the beneficiary of the all-new Banner Ball and to unite and energize this audience of supporters around our shared mission to Make Cancer History®.”

In 2011, Arizona’s leading health care provider, Banner Health, joined forces with MD Anderson Cancer Center, named one of the top two hospitals for cancer care in the nation every year since U.S. News & World Report began its annual Best Hospitals ranking in 1990. Over the past 14 years, this partnership has changed the landscape for cancer patients and their families throughout the region, giving community members access to cancer treatments that are among the most advanced in the country at our main campus in Gilbert and extension sites in downtown Phoenix, the northwest Valley, and coming soon to Scottsdale. Every Banner MD Anderson patient benefits from a multidisciplinary team of doctors who review each case individually while accessing some of the latest clinical trials to bring cutting-edge research to bear during treatments.

From the start, philanthropic support has played a vital role in the growth of Banner MD Anderson—accelerating the pace at which we can expand patient care, conduct research, and save lives. New developments in oncology are happening quickly, and charitable investment allows the Banner MD Anderson team to respond in real time.

With more than 1.5 million patient visits, nearly 200 clinical trials underway, and an ever-growing team of specialists across disciplines, Banner MD Anderson is poised to become our region’s premier clinical cancer research program and the vanguard of a revolution in cancer care.

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All donations benefit initiatives at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Centers in Arizona and do not fund research or programs at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

View photos from last year's Pulse of the City Soiree.