News stories about cancer often feature individual narratives, yet their impact on risk perceptions and behavioral intentions remains largely understudied. The current study compared the effects of narrative and non-narrative cancer news articles in a 2 (narrative vs. nonnarrative) x 2 (image of person vs. image of object) design. Adopting construal level theory as a framework, I examined whether narrative message formats would be more effective at influencing prevention and detection behaviors by reducing young adults’ psychological distance to colorectal cancer. Exposure to a cancer narrative resulted in higher message engagement, which in turn led to reduced psychological distance toward colorectal cancer, and increased risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. This study provides initial support for potential relationships between the dimensions of psychological distance outlined by construal level theory and identification and transportation, two key components of message engagement.