Coping with the diagnosis and hospitalization of a child with childhood cancer.

Objective: Find out how family members cope with hospitalization due to the diagnosis of childhood cancer.

Methodology: This is a descriptive-exploratory design study with qualitative data analyses, undertaken in the Support Center for Childhood Cancer in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. 10 members of the families of children with cancer underwent a semi-structured interview as a resource to collect empirical data.