OBJECTIVES: To describe the relationship between nurses and cancer patients, in the context of chemotherapy, according to the client's perception; to analyze nursing practice in oncology, based on human healthcare principles. METHODS: This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. Ten clients undergoing chemotherapy treatment took part in the study. The "Almanac" techniques of creativity and sensitivity were associated to semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: The subjects' discourses revealed that nursing care is supported on principles that are proper of human relations, such as friendship, affection, attention, tolerance and solidarity. It was also highlighted that the nurse's actions join technical and human attributes together, considering life as a fundamental ethical value in relation to human dignity as the main interaction element in healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: The results contributed for the reflection about nursing care within chemotherapy, collaborating with possible changes in the nurse's oncology healthcare practice with this client, who already is very stigmatized by the social construction of the disease.
Nurse-patient relationships; Nursing care; Oncologic nursing; Drug therapy