The objective of this study was to better understand the emotions felt by individuals who experience grieving a relative who has died due to cancer. This study is qualitative in nature and was carried out in the light of Martin Heidegger's Existential Phenomenology, between April and June of 2009. Six participants were selected from the files of the Assistance and Home Care Program in the municipal district of Cascavel, PR, Brazil. Relatives were inquired, "How are you dealing with the death of your family member?" From response analysis, three existential themes emerged: Becoming distressed facing the possibility of imminent death, Discovering their own finitude, and Experiencing the temporality of living in a grieving world. In this research, it was found that the nurse should walk beside the grieving person since he/she needs to feel supported throughout the process. Living with grief means treading a path in surviving the absence of a loved one and to finding a new sense of existence
Neoplasia; Death; Family; Nursing