This study sought to know the support bonds and the social network of the families that have a child with cancer in their context. It is an exploratory, descriptive investigation made with a qualitative approach. Six family members participated in the study, two from each of the children with cancer hospitalized in the Onco-Hematology Unit of the Joana de Gusmão Children´s Hospital in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews carried out from May to June of 2006. In order to organize the results, thematic analysis was used. The results revealed that the family seeks to organize itself in order to deal with the disease, resulting in a strengthening of family bonds and respective support networks. Religion appears as a strategy to handle situations which arise from cancer. However, it became clear that the disease can also weaken the previously established bonds.
Family; Child; Cancer; Nursing; Social support
