Cancer Communication and Informatics Research Across the Cancer Continuum Bradford W. Hesse National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland Ellen Beckjord University of Pittsburgh Lila J. Finney Rutten Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota Angela Fagerlin University of Michigan and VA Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan Linda D. Cameron University of California, Merced Over the past decade, dramatic changes brought about by a rapid diffusion of Internet technologies, cellular tele- phones, mobile devices, personal digital assistants, elec- tronic health records, and data visualization have helped to create a revolution in health communication. To under- stand the implications of this communication revolution for cancer care, the National Cancer Institute launched an ambitious set of research priorities under its “extraordi- nary opportunities” program. We present an overview of some of the relevant behavioral research being conducted within the perspective of this extraordinary opportunity in cancer communication research. We begin by tracing the implications of this research for behavioral scientists across the continuum of cancer care from primary preven- tion (e.g., tobacco control, diet, exercise, sun protection, and immunization against human papilloma virus), to sec- ondary prevention (e.g., screening for polyps, lesions, and early stage neoplasms), to diagnosis and treatment, post- treatment survivorship, and end of life. Along each point of the continuum, we describe a natural evolution of knowl- edge from studies on the traditional role of media to research on the changing role of new media and informat- ics, and we carefully highlight the role that psychological research has played in improving communication- and health-related outcomes along the way. We conclude with an appeal to psychologists of many different backgrounds to join with biomedical researchers, engineers, clinical practitioners, and others to accelerate progress against cancer. Keywords: health communication, informatics, psycho- oncology, cancer P sychological science has much to offer in shaping the communication pathways that undergird the delivery of evidence-based oncology care across the disease continuum (Miller, Bowen, Croyle, & Rowland, 2009). As expressed by the directors of the National Cancer Institute’s Comprehensive Cancer Centers, understanding how to improve cancer communications— both in the pub- lic health sense of raising awareness for cancer control and in the health systems sense of improving patient out- comes—will be a necessary precondition for leveraging current biomedical knowledge to “accelerat[e] successes against cancer” today (Cancer Center Directors Working Group, 2006). Why Study Communication? Health systems researchers have often attributed malfunc- tioning within medical systems to the miscommunications that occur between health care professionals and between health care teams and their respective patients (Institute of Medicine, 2000). In cancer, where primary and secondary prevention are important aspects of disease control, com- munication discontinuities can cause disruptions across the entire spectrum of the disease. For example, errors in public health communication can lead to personal confu- sion for the public over which recommendations to follow in preventing the onset of neoplastic disease (Beckjord, Finney Rutten, Arora, Moser, & Hesse, 2008); lapses in communication at the point of early detection can result in missed opportunities in secondary prevention (Zapka et al., 2004); discontinuities in communication after diagnosis may result in deleterious effects during treatment (Mazor et al., 2012); while the absence of coordinated care planning can lead to devastating consequences from recurrence, side effects, or end-of-life experiences (Institute of Medicine & National Research Council, 2006). Editor’s note. This article is one of 13 in the “Cancer and Psychology” special issue of the American Psychologist (February–March 2015). Paige Green McDonald, Jerry Suls, and Russell Glasgow provided the scholarly lead for the special issue. Authors’ note. Bradford W. Hesse, Health Communication and Infor- matics Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; Ellen Beckjord, Biobehavioral Medicine in Oncology Program, Univer- sity of Pittsburgh; Lila J. Finney Rutten, Population Health Science Program, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Roch- ester, Minnesota; Angela Fagerlin, Center for Bioethics and Social Sci- ences in Medicine, University of Michigan, and VA Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Linda D. Cameron, Health Communications and Interventions Lab and Department of Psychology, University of California, Merced. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brad- ford W. Hesse, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-7365. E-mail: bradford.hesse@nih.gov 198 February–March 2015 ● American Psychologist In the public domain Vol. 70, No. 2, 198 –210 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036852