One way to prevent lung cancer is to avoid smoking cigarettes. Another way may be to live at high elevations, for example, Silverton in San Juan County, elevation 9,308 feet.
Durango’s neighbor to the north earned a shout out in Tuesday’s Science section of the New York Times.
According to the article, studies found the higher you live, the less likely you are to get lung cancer, so maybe oxygen is a cause of lung cancer.
“The study suggests that if everyone in the United States moved to the alpine heights of San Juan County, Colo. (population: 700), there would be 65,496 fewer cases of lung cancer each year,” the article says.
Of course many variables are at play, including income, education, race, air pollution and other environmental factors, but scientists are intrigued by the possibility that oxygen itself might be carcinogenic.
“That is not a good reason to inhale less deeply at sea level or to flee to the mountains,” the article says. “Wherever you live, smoking accounts for as much as 90 percent of lung cancer.”