Dr. Kobe Lin believes his lingering cough is just an allergy. Six weeks later, Stanford professors received devastating news: Stage 4 lung cancer.
Ironically, Lin did not lose Lin's research and teaching on non-smoking lung cancer.
"I became a poster kid for this disease," he said.
Lin never smoked or was exposed to second-hand smoke, which represented a growing population.
For Asians, the odds are higher. According to Lin He Recent research.
Instead of retreating from the diagnosis, Lin made an unprecedented decision: He created a Stanford course around the cancer journey, looking at medical students’ perceptions of terminal illness from a patient’s perspective.
"I have stage 4 lung cancer, which is incurable," Lin told his class. "I could die from this cancer or something related to this cancer. It could be a year, maybe two, maybe five, I really don't know."
The course aims to rebalance medical education by showing students the true experience of their patients.
Lin explained: “Even if I know what the patient has experienced as a doctor, I don’t really know.”
By week three, Lin was documenting his chemotherapy treatment for students, sharing physical symptoms and emotional struggles.
"I felt sick. I avoided chipotle today," he told his class.
Despite his final prognosis, Lin is still focused on life rather than preparing for death. His priorities are with his wife Christine and their two sons, Dominic, 17, and Atticus, 13.
The family has always been candid about Lin's diagnosis and prognosis. Lin wrote to his son because he was no longer there, telling them: "No matter where I am here, I want you to know that I love you. Of the many things I do, my life means to be your dad is the greatest."
Lin's teaching philosophy goes beyond medical knowledge and focuses on the power of kindness and hope.
"It's easy to forget kindness when you're sick," he said. "It's easy to forget kindness when you feel uncomfortable, busy, and life disappoints you."
The course is open with a letter from a former patient who wrote: “You treat my father as you do me.” The patient died two weeks after the letter was written.
“He spent some time writing letters in his last few hours, life’s days,” Lin said emotionally. “In a sense, this class is part of my letter and a way I give back to the community.”
In the conclusion of the course, Lin guided Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech and told his students: "I consider myself the luckiest person on earth. I know I have a tough break, but I have a lot to do."
David Begnaud loves to reveal the heart of each story and will continue to do so, emphasizing everyday heroes and with his exclusive "CBS Morning" series ( “Begging for America.” Every Monday, get ready for a moment, which will make you smile and even shed tears. Do you have a story about ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others? Send emails to David and his team at deardavid@cbsnews.com