OBJECTIVES: To identify the mediators of play in the lives of children with cancer in outpatient treatment, and review the opportunities of using them, considering the limitations imposed by the disease and the treatment. METHODS: Qualitative research, according to the creative and sensitive method implemented; it was focused on group dynamics "Playing on stage." Twelve (12) children participated, who were being treated for cancer in an outpatient service at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro. RESULTS: Two themes emerged: mediators of the possibilities of play (instruments and signs), and mediators of the possibilities of play in social interaction (people and environment). In situations of impossibilities and restrictions, the children found alternatives to overcome the obstacles and to continue playing, within their abilities. CONCLUSION: The professionals who care for these children must seek knowledge about the needs the children have (as human beings in development), identifying situations that may determine the possibilities of playing and, along with the child and family, transforming them into other possibilities.
Games and toys; Child health; Pediatric nursing; Oncology