When David Daugherty made his first professional recording in November of 2014, he thought the CD - including his signature tune "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" - would help him make his way in the entertainment industry. 

 

Less than a year later, the song and the acronym it inspired - WAMIMS - has become a symbol of inspiration for cancer patients, including Daugherty's wife Chrissy. 

 

"On April 9, I had my first colonoscopy and went in thinking it would be something simple. I wasn't really planning on hearing the news that I had a cancerous tumor," she said. 

 

After she reported some symptoms to her doctor, the colonoscopy was ordered for Daugherty, who is just 43 years old. The tumor was removed, as was 12 inches of her colon. She subsequently began chemotherapy. 

 

"I'm on my seventh round of chemo and I have to go to 12," she said. 

 

The diagnosis really put things in perspective, David Daugherty said. Rather than focusing on promoting his career and making money through his music, he shifted that focus to lifting the spirits of his wife and others who were enduring cancer treatments. 

 

"When you walk into the cancer center at the hospital, it's kind of depressing and I was trying to think of a way to pump people up," he said. 

 

He took some photos of some of the patients holding up "WAMIMS" signs and that started something big. 

 

Daugherty's friends and fans began sending photos from all over the country featuring the signature "WAMIMS" tagline. They held up signs. They wrote it in the sand. 

 

"We had people sending in pictures from out west, in major cities like Chicago and Nashville, from Broadway in New York City and from Wyoming with people riding on horses," David Daugherty said. 

 

Pairing the photos up with his own recording of the Elvis tune "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," Daugherty began making music videos and posting them on YouTube. It's all become a healing tool. 

 

And the song itself is raising money for the American Cancer Society. 

 

"'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' is available on all digital outlets such as Google, Amazon and iTunes," Daugherty said. "It can be downloaded for 99 cents. After Sony and Elvis take their part, 67 cents - 100 percent of our proceeds - is donated." 

 

Everyone has 99 cents, a Smartphone and the five or six seconds it takes to download a song, Daugherty said. 

 

The outlet through which the money is donated is the American Cancer Society "Ride for Life," an annual fundraiser chaired by employees of Pratt &  Whitney. 

 

At this year's "Ride for Life" - which took place Saturday - Chrissy Daugherty was one of three honorees. She and two other locals currently battling colon cancer - Robbie Faber and John Whiteman - were featured on the T-shirt sleeve. Including T-shirt sales, Saturday's ride raised approximately $23,000. The 14th Annual "Ride for Life" motorcycle run included about 600 people and 400 bikes which made a 142-mile ride throughout North Central West Virginia. 

 

"We left from Texas Roadhouse in Clarksburg and went to Philippi and to Rowlesburg, went up the mountain and crossed over Aurora Pike into Terra Alta and came down into Kingwood, through Grafton and ended at Best Western Plus in Bridgeport," said Christine Muska, event co-chair. "There were five different places where we rolled the dice and whoever had the highest at the end of the run won $500 which was donated by Bryans and Brents Place in Weston." 

 

That prize money was donated in memory of the business owner's daughter who died after battling cancer. 

The stories go on and on, including the one of Alyssa Weekly, whose cancer diagnosis 14 years ago got the ball rolling for "Ride for Life."

 

"She was one of our employee's 18-month-old little girl who had neuroblastoma," Muska said. 

 

That original ride started with about three dozen motorcycles. Each year, the ride has grown and has raised money toward cancer awareness and research efforts. Each year, a different kind of cancer is targeted. 

 

Alyssa Weekly is doing well.

 

"She's one of our success stories,"  Muska said. 

 

Knowing all of these personal stories brings new meaning to "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," David Daugherty said. 

 

"You never know what people are going through," he said. "You might walk by someone in Walmart and think they have attitude, but you don't know what they might be thinking about." 

 

See one of Daugherty's "WAMIMS" music videos below. Download "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" HERE at iTunes. Read about his recording experience at Dark Horse Studio in Nashville HERE.