A decade ago, I was part of a team of four resident DJs at a weekly dark dance night in Pittsburgh, Pa.

I was the one most likely to play something that sounded sinister and sexy, with angelic female vocals and a sensual beat. DJ Hiem (whose real name is Jim Semonik) was the one most likely to play something that sounded angry, with growling male vocals, distorted guitars and a thumping bass line.

Meanwhile, he was one of the most positive people I knew, who never seemed to have an unkind word to say about anyone. I can still see him jumping up and down behind the CD players, getting pumped up on the music he was playing, and taking the crowd along with him.

As far as I can tell, that hasn't changed since he got cancer.

On May 1, 2008, Semonik was diagnosed with stage 2B colorectal cancer. On Sept. 23, 2009, he was pronounced cancer-free. In between, there was chemotherapy and radiation, four-and-a-half months of wearing an illeostomy bag, and a project that gave him a goal to focus on.

Using his contacts a DJ, a concert promoter, a music buyer for a record store, and a frontman for industrial band Rein[forced], Semonik contacted dozens of bands and asked them to contribute to a compilation. The songs were to be related to a struggle with cancer, and the proceeds were to benefit the Foundation for Cancer Research and Wellness.

Once the submissions finished rolling in, he had 83 songs on 5 discs and a distribution deal from dark music label Metropolis Records. He called the project "Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer," and it's been hailed as the industrial music scene's most comprehensive compilation in 15 years.

"I really think that focusing on something that isn't your illness is very important. Something that drives you and something you're passionate about," Semonik tells me in a Feb. 6 phone interview from his home in Pittsburgh, where the city was struggling under two feet of snow. "After getting diagnosed I just lost myself in work and shows and music. I kept on promoting. I even played a show while going through chemotherapy," the 33-year-old says.

The first seed for what would become "Electronic Saviors" took root on June 28, 2008, when Semonik was promoting a concert featuring 16 Volt and Bella Morte. Before the show, he was talking with 16 Volt frontman Eric Powell and told him that he really wanted to do something to help other people in his position.

"Before I was even done explaining it," Semonik recalls, "He was like, 'My grandparents suffered from this. You can count on me.' I thought that if Eric was so eager to join me in this cause, that some other musicians might as well. I just started contacting anybody I could, either that I worked with at some point or did a show for. I started getting submissions about this time last year."

Originally he'd planned for it to be a two-disc compilation, but the submissions kept coming. Eventually, the compilation became four discs, with a fifth disc available as a digital download.

Each disc is named for a different stage of the disease. Disc 1 is called "Diagnosis and Insurance," Disc 2 is "Chemotherapy and Radiation," Disc 3 is "Surgery," Disc 4 is "Recovery," and Disc 5 is "Bonus Medication."

The song titles range from the inspiring, like The Dark Clan's "Beat It, Kill It" and The Azoic's "Search And Destroy (Savior Mix)" to the humorous, like Caustic's "Jim Made Cancer His Bitch" and The Gothsicles' "Jim, Let Me Know When You Can Drink Again (Extreme Party Stylezz)."

Da5id Din from the band Informatik, who's done a lot of work for Metropolis, agreed to do the mastering for free. "He made this thing sound amazing," Semonik says.

The deal with Metropolis came about in July, 2009. "That was a nervous day," says Semonik, because I knew that conversation was going to happen."

His other contacts at Metropolis had encouraged him to give label president Dave Heckman a call about his compilation project. "And I was like, 'There's no way he's ever going to put this thing out,' " Semonik recalls. " 'But it's worth a shot. The worst he could say is no.' "

He called and left a message, thinking the call would go unreturned, but the next day while driving home from work, his phone rang.

"I pick it up and see it says Dave Heckman," he says, "And I'm like, 'Oh my god,' and I start sweating and shaking, I was so nervous."

However, he says, they ended up having an awesome conversation about the music industry and health insurance and the state of things in America.

"We talked for about a half hour," Semonik recalls, and he said, "A lot of people have asked me to do stuff like this over the years, but never for a cause like this. I'll be happy to distribute your release."

Semonik's been thankful for it ever since. "Without him, I wouldn't be able to do half of what I'm doing," he says, "because he's the only one in the industry at this point with the muscle to get this into the right places. Hot Topic's taken 400 of them."

It's also been exported to Europe and is listed on bestbuy.com.

The compilation was produced in a limited edition of 2,500. If sales continue as they have, Semonik says, Metropolis will be sold out by Feb. 19. He estimates that he will be able to donate $20,000 to $30,000 to the Foundation for Cancer Research and Wellness.

"People's reactions to this whole concept is nothing short of amazing," Semonik says. Kind of like him.