Lung cancer is an incurable disease in which malignant cancer cells start growing in the lungs of an individual. The main cause of lung cancer is smoking or exposure to asbestos or other dangerous chemicals. While lung cancer is incurable that doesn’t mean there aren’t measures that can be taken to help prevent it. For example, you can avoid the cities with the highest lung cancer rates per capita, such as these U.S. cities:

1. Corpus Christi, Texas

This city is known to rank fifth for the most smokers out of all the cities in the U.S. This is because Texas hasn’t yet put into effect a comprehensive smoking ban like other states have. As mentioned before smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer, so it makes sense why lung cancer rates are high in Corpus Christi. This city also has an increasing number of older residents which can also contribute to the high lung cancer rates as when you age you are more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer.

2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The rate of new lung cancer cases is significantly higher than the national average in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On top of that, Pennsylvania ranked 15th out of all the states of lung cancer cases that did not receive any treatment. In Philadelphia, the smoking rate was significantly higher than the national average which puts its population at risk for developing lung cancer.

3. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Lung cancer is the 1st most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in Louisiana. This is due to the high smoking rates in this city. Smoking puts you at a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer. Second hand smoke also puts you at risk so in cities with large amounts of smokers it makes sense that even those who don’t smoke are at risk.

4. Louisville, Kentucky

Kentucky ranks among the top 10 states with the most smokers. The use of tobacco, again, is a contributing factor that increases the rate of lung cancer in Louisville. Kentucky is also one of the states with the highest rates of lung cancer and a lot of residents of Louisville count towards that ranking.

5. Cheyenne, Wyoming

This city is among the top 3 most cancer prone cities. According to a survey nine percent of this city is aged 55-74 which means they are more at risk of developing cancer. Another study said that lung cancer was one of the most common types of cancer in this state. This is probably due to high smoking rates and the older population in this U.S. city.