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Communicating Early Cancer
Project Title: Communicating Early Cancer: The Impact of Language Use in Patient Narratives and Pathology Reports on Risk Perceptions, Emotions, and Decision-Making
Project Funding: Radboud-Western Collaboration Fund, 2025-2026
How we talk about cancer matters. When patients are told they have an “early” or “pre-cancer,” they may experience distress, confusion, or pressure to pursue treatment—even when their condition may never cause harm. Additionally, health messaging in the media and online often uses metaphors like “fighting” or “battling” cancer which can reinforce the idea that immediate action is necessary, even when medical guidelines recommend watchful waiting. At the same time, patients increasingly gain direct access to their electronic health records, including pathology reports. Reports that contain technical jargon or emotionally charged language can create confusion and anxiety —further amplifying pressure to seek testing or treatment.
In all, framing in public narratives and pathology reports can severely impact patient’s perceptions, emotions, and their subsequent treatment decisions. Although recent efforts to create patient-centred pathology reports aim to present information more clearly and compassionately, there is limited evidence on how different formats influence patient understanding and decision-making. Also, it is unclear how different public narratives might impact the interpretation and effects of such pathology reports.
This collaborative study addresses these knowledge gaps by investigating how different ways of communicating early cancer diagnoses influence patients’ risk perceptions, emotions, and treatment decisions. The goal is to tackle a growing clinical challenge: how to communicate early or pre-cancer diagnoses in a way that enables informed, preference-sensitive decisions.
Co-Primary Investigators
- Dr. Benjamin Chin-Yee, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry; Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Humanities; London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute
- Dr. Lisa Vandeberg, Assistant Professor, Communication Science, Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University; Department of Primary Care, Radboud University Medical Centre
Collaborators
- Dr. Michael Sanatani, Associate Professor, Department of Oncology, Western University
- Dr. Jacquie Burkell, Professor, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University
- Dr. Cyrus Hsia, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Western University
- Dr. Hanneke Hendriks, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University
- Dr. Kobie van Krieken, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, Communication and Information Sciences, Radboud University
- Dr. Anke Oerlemans, Assistant Professor, IQ Health Department, Radboud University Medical Centre
- Dr. Gudrun Reijnierse, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Communication, Free University (VU) Amsterdam