A Guided Journal for LMS Survivors

Download and print this free guided journal:

‍ ‍https://www.lmsdr.org/s/Journal-My-LMS-Journal-compressed.pdf

By Katherine Johnson

1/7/26

As I'm sure many of us do, when I was first diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma, I googled this strange sounding cancer. I clicked on one link, read a bit and then promptly panicked. This is a scary thing to be diagnosed with.

One thing that has consistently helped me manage living with LMS is journaling.

Writing about what I'm feeling is something that I know helps. Studies show that acknowledging and accepting our feelings is an important part of thriving, especially for those of us who are living with something as challenging as a diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. After years of research coupled with lived experience, I have a firm belief that writing our truth can help us not only survive, but to thrive.

It is my belief that many of us could benefit from having the structure and support a guided journal offers. I also believe having a regular gratitude practice is important for our well being as well. This is because there are many studies showing gratitude journaling can help cancer patients in many ways.

A study titled, Effects of gratitude journaling on patients with breast cancer, published in July, 2025, stated: “The group who wrote journals felt more thankful, showed stronger resilience, and had a better quality of life than those who did not.”

Similarly, a study titled, Mindful gratitude journaling: psychological distress, quality of life and suffering in advanced cancer, came to the conclusion that, “The results provide evidence that 7 days of mindful gratitude journaling could positively affect the state of suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.”

Studies such as these, and my own lived experience, prove to me that, as an MD Anderson CancerWise blog post puts it: “Journaling can help you sleep better, reduce fatigue and help you adjust psychologically to a cancer diagnosis and treatment.”

There is no right way to journal about your cancer.

If a guided journal doesn’t feel good to you, another idea is to simply write down 1-3 things you are grateful for at the end of each day - however big, small or ‘silly’ those things might be for you. The research on the power of gratitude journaling to help us process emotions and build resilience is vast and encouraging. It can make a big difference in your quality of life, and that is, in my eyes, a big part of what thriving with leiomyosarcoma is all about - living our best lives while living with cancer.

The LMDSR 30 day guided journal is a free download that includes space for daily gratitude journaling as well for those of us with LMS. You can print it off to fill out, write about the daily prompts in an existing journal or notebook, or use it digitally on an iPad if you’ve got an app such as the free version of Goodnotes if that’s how you enjoy journaling. Again, there is no right or wrong way to journal. The important thing is for us to allow ourselves the full range of human emotions and reactions without judgment.

. . .

Katherine Johnson was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) after a radical hysterectomy for uterine fibroids, one of which turned out to be ULMS. She lives in on a little hill overlooking a bigger valley with her partner, dog and very energetic kitten.