ABSTRACT The objective was to understand and to analyze the management of nursing care for women with breast cancer in palliative chemotherapy. This was an exploratory and qualitative study, which used the Grounded Theory. Eight nurses and ten patients of one of the units of the National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were interviewed. Data analysis showed five conceptual categories. The categories that represent the object of this study were: managing care during nursing consultation; pointing out the difficulties in carrying out nursing care management; listing administrative strategies to better manage care. Faced with the decision to administer palliative chemotherapy, nurses should pay attention to the need for care that women may present. Nurses play an important role in managing care, and contribute to a closer look at the recognition of such needs, prioritizing the quality of life.