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What do people fear about cancer? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer fears in the general population

Vrinten, C; McGregor, LM; Heinrich, M; von Wagner, C; Waller, J; Wardle, J; Black, GB; (2017) What do people fear about cancer? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer fears in the general population. Psycho-Oncology , 26 (8) pp. 1070-1079. 10.1002/pon.4287. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Cancer has long inspired fear but the effect of fear is not well understood; it seems both to facilitate and deter early diagnosis behaviours. To elucidate fear's behavioural effects, we systematically reviewed and synthesised qualitative literature to explore what people fear about cancer. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, AnthroSource, and Anthrobase for studies on cancer fear in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, and analysed 102 studies from 26 countries using thematic synthesis. RESULTS: Fears of cancer emanated from a core view of cancer as a vicious, unpredictable, and indestructible enemy, evoking fears about its proximity, the (lack of) strategies to keep it at bay, the personal and social implications of succumbing, and fear of dying from cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This view of cancer as "an enemy" reprises the media's "war on cancer" theme, and may affect the acceptance of cancer early detection and prevention messages, since cancer's characteristics influenced whether "fight" or "flight" was considered appropriate. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Type: Article
Title: What do people fear about cancer? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer fears in the general population
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/pon.4287
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pon.4287
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Cancer, fear, oncology, screening, worry
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Applied Health Research
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1516263
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