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Red Devils on the Warpath

Helping breast cancer patients manage from day to day

July 29, 2008
By Elizabeth Heubeck
Photography Courtesy of the Red Devils

 
Red Devils on the Warpath The Red Devils give patients the kind of help that doctors can’t provide.
 

In the spring of 2006, Pamela Tamondong was going great guns, juggling four children, a household and a busy career as the marketing and sales director for a Baltimore-area hotel. Then, on her 44th birthday, she found a lump in her breast.

Tests revealed that the Howard County resident had not one but two tumors, one of them a highly aggressive and recurring form of cancer. The cancer was labeled an early Stage Three (Stage Four is the most advanced). Tamondong opted to have a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, an 11-hour surgery. Over the next year she underwent four additional operations and more than 20 rounds of chemotherapy.

“My whole life became an endless round of doctor appointments,” Tamondong says.

Worst of all were the chemotherapy sessions. While the potent drugs conquered the cancer, they also caused bone and tissue pain so intense that Tamondong couldn’t stand even the lightest touch from her children.

She would feel better several days after chemo — only to face another round a few days later. In a matter of months, Tamondong went from a multitasking bundle of energy to a woman who some days could not get out of bed.

Although Tamondong’s husband had a good job with health benefits, her illness cut deeply into the family’s budget. Not only did she lose her $60,000-a-year salary, but she also spent an average of $1,500 a month on expenses directly and indirectly related to her treatment. She was sick, broke and barely able to take care of her family. Tamondong needed medical help, but she also needed the kind of help that doctors could not provide.

Tamondong turned to The Red Devils. A Baltimore-based group founded in 2002, the nonprofit strives to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients and their families. Through partners, The Red Devils provides services such as transportation to and from medical appointments; housecleaning; grocery shopping and meal preparation; help with prescription drug co-payments; and even acupuncture and stress-reducing massages. The only requirement is that patients live and receive treatment in Maryland. All services are free.

During her illness, Tamondong had eight months’ worth of chef-prepared meals delivered to her doorstep. She also had her house cleaned and enjoyed a massage at Mercy Medical Center’s Medi-Spa. It was a rare medical appointment that left her feeling better. “I came out of there with a cleansed feeling,” she says. “I spent some time on myself. It felt so good.”

The Red Devils was founded by two women with breast cancer. Ginny Schardt and Jessica Cowling met in January 2001 at Towson’s HopeWell Cancer Support center. Both suffering from advanced cancer, they grew close quickly and decided to participate as a team in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. They called their team The Red Devils — the nickname of a bright-red, particularly corrosive chemotherapy drug — and made up shirts with a devil logo designed by Cowling’s boyfriend.

Jessica Cowling died on July 4, 2002, at the age of 31. Ginny Schardt died a month later, on Aug. 16, at the age of 44. Their friends and family vowed to keep their group alive. “We realized that Jessica and Ginny had lots of help around them, but not everybody did,” Lark Schulze, Jessica’s mother, told The Baltimore Sun in 2003. Rebecca Berger, Cowling’s best friend, recalls saying, “If you need me to lick envelopes, I will.” Berger served as acting secretary for several years and remains on the organization’s board.

From the beginning, The Red Devils distinguished itself from other breast cancer organizations. Instead of raising money toward a cure or better treatments, The Red Devils focused on helping breast cancer patients manage their day-to-day chores — which can be near-overwhelming during treatment. Rather than rely on the kindness of donors to provide these services, The Red Devils contracted with professional agencies and hospitals. Funds came from grants and private donations. The group’s biggest fund-raiser is the annual Heart and Sole Stroll, which will be held this year on June 8 at Columbia’s Centennial Park.

The organization has been growing at a steady clip. In the last two years, The Red Devils’ operating budget has more than doubled, to $400,000. Participation in the Heart and Sole Stroll grew 40 percent from 2006 to 2007. Individual, corporate and foundation support continues to increase, allowing The Red Devils to partner with nearly 30 hospitals from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore.

Last year was a turning point for the group. It moved into its first permanent office space in the Govans neighborhood of Baltimore. It also hired its first executive director, Jan Wilson.

Wilson is passionate about the cause. After seeing her father suffer through a terminal illness, she vowed to get involved in a nonprofit that helped patients. Though she has worked for high-profile nonprofits such as the Public Broadcasting System and Maryland Public Television, she calls her new job a particularly good fit “spiritually.”

Says Wilson: “Breast cancer annually claims the lives of more than 4,200 Marylanders, some of them men. Our main wish is that some day there will not be a need for The Red Devils because someone has found a cure. Until then, we’ll try to make each day a bit easier for those with this disease.”

For more information about The Red Devils or to register for the sixth annual Heart and Sole Stroll on June 8, visit www.the-red-devils.org or call 410-323-0135.

 
 
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