David Oliver has spent years teaching others how to care for dying patients. Now, he is terminally-ill with Stage 4 cancer. But the medical school professor at the University of Missouri is using death as a teachable moment, using his own case, and the Internet.

From the inability to even pronounce the cancer, nasal pharyngeal cancer — to taking control of his condition by shaving his head before the effects of chemotherapy could claim his hair, Oliver has shared many lessons on his blog, which features several YouTube videos of him dealing with his cancer diagnosis. The blog began around the time of his diagnosis last November.

Oliver explained on “CBS This Morning” that he wanted to tell people he had cancer without the awkwardness. “People that have a cancer diagnosis, one of the first decisions to make is, how do I tell others? A very dear close friend of mine who happens to be my physician, I asked him, ‘How am I going to tell others about this?’ He said, ‘David, I don’t know.  The interaction is just really awkward. I did not intend to inspire anyone. I just wanted to tell them what I had.”

Oliver’s wife, Debbie Parker Oliver, has been filming his battle with cancer.

Professor David Oliver documents cancer battle in videos then posted online.

Oliver said, “The big surprise for me, is that I’m not afraid to die. I thought I would be. I’m a gerontologist. I studied the frail all my life. Debbie is the care-giver. It’s all the care-givers out there suffer.”

Oliver, is using the time left to teach.

Oliver said. “Instead, he said, ‘Don’t panic, don’t struggle. Relax and accept it. It is what it is. You know none of us gets out of this alive.’ And so, instead of wasting my time trying to battle this silent killer, I decided to, it’s a time to teach. If there ever was a time to teach, this is it.

“There’s no shortage of topics that you can do videos on and I’ve received a response from people all over the United States and seven different countries now.”

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