The impact of communication on cancer risk, incidence, morbidity, mortality, and quality of life.

Health communication has great potential to help reduce cancer risks, incidence, morbidity, and mortality while enhancing quality of life across the continuum of cancer care (prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care). Effective health communication can encourage cancer prevention, inform cancer detection and diagnosis, guide cancer treatment, support successful cancer survivorship, and promote the best end-of-life care. This article examines the influences of health communication in confronting cancer and promoting important health outcomes. Implications of this analysis are drawn for directing informed cancer communication research and practice.