Journal of health communication
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Cancer-related affect and cognition, such as cancer fear, cancer worry, and cancer risk perception, are important predictors of cancer prevention and communication behaviors. However, they have not been clearly conceptualized in cancer communication literature, and in particular, the role of affect (i.e., cancer fear) in cancer prevention and communication has not been fully investigated. The present study developed a 3-factor cancer-related mental condition model encompassing affective (cancer fear), cognitive (cancer risk perception), and affective-cognitive (cancer worry) conditions. ⋯ Cancer fear was positively associated with cancer information use, but it was also positively related to cancer information avoidance. Moreover, cancer fear was negatively associated with screening intention. Although the three components of the model are positively related to one another, they function differently in the cancer context.