Objective:

To describe the experience that caregivers of relatives who died of cancer went through at the time of death.

Materials and methods:

Descriptive study, based on Husserl's phenomenological approach and Colaizzi's method. The study participants were 16 adults who performed the role of primary family caregiver for more than six months, within an 8-18-month period, before the in-depth interview. Descriptive and nominal codes were identified and transcribed between January and March 2018. A cross-review was performed.

Results:

The experience that the caregiver of a relative who died of cancer underwent at the time of death was built from seven themes: the end of a great battle; the present body and the absent soul; feeling incomplete; wondering why; establishing the urgent; saying goodbye; and looking for reasons to continue living.

Conclusions:

For the caregiver of a relative who dies of cancer, facing the time of death causes indescribable pain. Social, economic, psychological and spiritual factors converge in this experience; therefore, it is necessary to overcome obstacles and unexpected situations that, despite their difficulty, force us to learn from them and find meaning.

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