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The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the mother’s experience of having a child diagnosed with cancer. Semistructured interview questions, focused specifically on values, provided the foundation for the study. Each of the 9 participants was a mother of a child diagnosed with cancer 30 days prior to par-ticipation. Subsequent data were collected from each participant 6 months after the original interview. Using a phenomenological approach for data collection and analyses, themes were uncovered from each interview data set. The initial interviews identified 3 themes: (1) problems accessing the health care system, (2) chal-lenges of family dynamics, and (3) support structures. Each theme persisted in the second interview, with an additional theme, (4) future plans, uncovered. Data from this study may provide guidance for health care professionals who provide care to these children and their families. The importance of maintaining commu-nication and keeping promises cannot be overstated. Key words: qualitative research, phenomenology, values, cancer Childhood cancer is a life-threatening but poten-tially curable disease with appropriate treatment (Stiller, 1997). Despite these increasing survival rates, the diagnosis of cancer affects not only the individual but also the entire family unit (Ferris & Cumming, 1995). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report When Children Die highlights gaps in our knowledge regard-ing the care of children and families (Field & Behrman, 2002). This report states that many health care teams fail to identify the values and wishes of the families they serve. Understanding what families experience is essential if health care professionals hope to provide sensitive and comprehensive care. Qualitative research provides methods that detail and interpret the experi-ence. Woodgate and Degner (2003) stated that pro-cess-oriented qualitative research will provide health care professionals with an understanding of childhood cancer, from the perspective of the family. When a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, both the family and society are impacte