Episode #21: Cancer Caregiver Tom Clark on Honoring His Wife
Main Takeaways From This Episode:
Tom Clark shares the story of his wife Bernadette’s diagnosis and death from glioblastoma (GBM). In this episode, he shares:
- The early, easy-to-miss symptoms of her brain tumor
- Her diagnosis and treatment challenges
- Her decision to stop treatment and move to hospice care at home
- Why he reached out to NFCR after her death
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Tom and Bernadette Clark met as teenagers working summer jobs at a grocery store in Wildwood, New Jersey — she was the cashier, he was the bagger. They started dating in 1966 and stayed together for the next 52 years, through marriage, kids, and Bernadette’s second career as a nurse, where she was later voted Nurse of the Year at Christiana Care.
So when Bernadette started acting out of character — stumbling on a hiking trail in Cuba, struggling to get ready in the morning, growing uncharacteristically frustrated — Tom knew something was wrong long before any doctor did. And so did Bernadette. Drawing on her own nursing instincts, she told Tom plainly: “I have a tumor.” She was right. It was glioblastoma (GBM), one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain cancers.
In this episode of All Things Cancer, Tom sits down with Dr. Sujuan Ba, NFCR’s President and CEO, to walk through what came next: a scramble to get imaging done despite Bernadette’s claustrophobia, a connection to a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, brain surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Tom describes falling into what he calls “autopilot” — the same problem-solving instinct that served him for decades as a plant manager, now redirected toward keeping his wife comfortable and cared for at home through hospice, until she passed away on March 22, 2019.
It’s a hard story, but not a hopeless one. Tom talks candidly about grief and the quiet decision to turn it into purpose — reaching out to NFCR to make sure Bernadette’s story could help someone else. Dr. Ba shares where GBM research stands today, including NFCR’s work with the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research, and a sobering trend the field is watching closely: rising rates of early-onset cancer in adults under 50.
Near the end of the conversation, Tom sums up what kept him going, seven years on:
“I can’t control evil in the world. But I can do the best I can to counter it.”
Listen to the full episode of All Things Cancer — available anywhere you listen.
About All Things Cancer
Each episode of All Things Cancer will spotlight the most pressing topics in oncology, from cutting-edge treatments and emerging research to personal stories of resilience and hope. More than just a podcast, it’s a platform for raising awareness, advancing cancer education, and fostering a global community of support and collaboration.
Hosted by NFCR CEO, Sujuan Ba, Ph.D., this compelling series will bring together the entire ecosystem of cancer research—including leading scientists, oncologists, doctors, patient advocates, caregivers, biotech innovators, and survivors—for powerful discussions on the breakthroughs shaping the future of cancer research, treatment, and care.
All Things Cancer is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with new episodes released biweekly.
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