ABSTRACT
People fear cancer: the diagnosis, the treatments, and the prognosis. Many agencies try to raise awareness of cancer, with actions like community events and public service announcements. Unfortunately, that well-meaning strategy may undermine the decision making of individuals who lack an overall understanding of cancer risks. People try to make sense of the world around them by integrating new information with existing beliefs. Successful integration requires creating coherent mental models, allowing people to make sense of what they hear and make consistent inferences regarding the situations that they face. Without a better mental model of symptoms, there seem to be substantial risks of both excessive testing and missing opportunities. People need accurate mental models in order to make effective decisions regarding eating habits, screening, treatment, and other cancer-related choices. One metaphor that was introduced to take advantage of the idea that cancer might grow slowly and be confined to later life was that of the body aging.
