A cancer patient in her 80s has handwritten 36 letters recording all the help she has received in a hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province.

In 2012, Dong Daojing, an 83-year-old grandmother, was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix, and doctors estimated she only had six months to live, chinanews.com reported on Monday.

To acknowledge the work of the doctors and nurses at Wuhan University's Zhongnan Hospital who have helped her during the past five years, she has written 36 thank-you letters detailing what they have done.

"The stories that Dong wrote are just normal in many people's eyes, but she always finds beauty and kindness in small things, and spares no effort praising and encouraging our colleagues," said Ai Tingfang, a secretary at the hospital.

The patient's positive attitude and appreciation of others' help is good for her recovery, said Xiong Bin, Dong's oncologist.

Zhu Fangjie contributed to this story.