When Missy Bowles' father was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June 2008, it was already too late. He passed away just one month later, at the age of 65.
For Bowles, her memory of her father as a quiet man who would do anything for anyone is what inspired her to do something more for him and others like him.
"There was this little voice in my head, and I knew it was from God, saying 'You need to do more,' " she said. "So that's what I did."
Bowles contacted the The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation seven years ago with a straightforward question: "How can I help?" This week, the foundation announced that it is honoring her for her commitment to fundraising efforts that, since 2009, have brought in more than $120,000.
Bowles, of Eleanor, West Virginia, and Mark Wells, of Mechanicville, New York, were honored as the 2016 Above and Beyond Award recipients by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation for their work to advance the mission of the Meso Foundation through efforts of advocacy, awareness-building, education and support.
"Mesothelioma is generally underfunded, and not given the attention it deserves," said Maja Belamaric, director of communications for the Meso Foundation. "Our organization does four things: research, support for patients, education and advocacy. Missy and the other person who received this award both have done a tremendous deal for the advancement of all of those goals."
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer most often caused by exposure to asbestos, and affects the smooth lining of the chest, heart, lungs and abdomen, according to the foundation. In the case of Bowles' father, Richard Dorsey, the disease attacked the lining of his abdomen - called peritoneal mesothelioma - and it baffled his doctors at first, she said.
"He just started not feeling well in January of 2008, and they thought it was his new cholesterol medicine," she said. "He kept putting it off and putting it off. I had my first and only child that February, and he tried his best to interact and be there, but he just really didn't feel like himself.
"We made him go to the doctor in March or April, and no one could really figure out what was going on with him. In April, his stomach started swelling, and we were like, 'Something's not right,' because he was losing weight everywhere else.
"Finally, they did exploratory surgery on him, that June the 13th, and told us he had mesothelioma, and that the tumors were so bad that there wasn't anything they could do."
Bowles said she wants to do more than raise money; she wants to raise awareness of mesothelioma, from the symptoms and causes of the disease to ways to prevent and treat it.
Like most mesothelioma cases, Dorsey's was caused by occupational hazards he encountered at work, first at two Union Carbide sites and then working for the water company, decades before his cancer presented.
"Usually, [sufferers] were exposed back in the '70s, and it takes 15 or 30 years to actually show up in your body," Bowles said. "With all of the research that has been done in the last few years, I have friends who are living 10, 11 years cancer-free, so far, but in that time, too, I've lost a lot of people I've met through doing this."
Bowles said her fundraising efforts have evolved over the years but that her friends and the town of Eleanor have always been supportive.
Bowles will host her seventh annual ROD's Benefit for Meso 5K Run/Walk - Color Out Meso, on Sept. 17, at the Eleanor Town Park. Those who sign up before Sept. 15 will pay $20, while those who sign up afterward will pay $25. Children under 12 years old participate for free.
To learn more or to sign up for the event, visit www.aptiming.com.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.