[Falling ill and dying of a young woman with breast cancer]

This study focused on the experience of a young woman with breast cancer and sought to understand the progression of her falling ill, dying and death based on the significance attributed to the events of her life. It concentrates on the idea that one dies from how one has lived and in the way that a new meaning is attributed to this life over the course of time. It is qualitative research that is presented as a situational study that enabled the construction of Beth's Life Line using her Life History in which, judging from her narratives, events considered significant by her and that confirmed her way of living, stand out and are reflected in her death. Besides the detailed description of how the interview meetings occurred, it also discusses two central categories of the study, called "Ebbing of life - the small deaths experienced by Beth" and "Beth living out her dying and death." The study emphasizes the need for the health professionals to assume responsibility for a kind of care that does not only seek a cure, but also focuses on the human dimension, aiming to ensure well-being and maintenance of life, while this is still possible.