title: What do people fear about cancer? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer fears in the general population.
abstract: Cancer has long inspired fear, but the effect of fear is not well understood; it seems both to facilitate and to deter early diagnosis behaviours. To elucidate fear's behavioural effects, we systematically reviewed and synthesised qualitative literature to explore what people fear about cancer.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6187-0638
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vrinten
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lesley M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Research, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Georgia B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology
keywords: cancer; fear; oncology; screening; worry