if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

Question

if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

In: 3306

Answer 1

Let’s pretend skin cells are like tissue paper. Top layer gets dirty and used, then tossed. Imagine someone smearing poop all the way down to the bottom layer of tissue stack. Now whenever you pull out another tissue, it’s covered in poop.

UV penetrate deep into the skin damaging even skin cells that’s yet to be turned into top layer of your skin. Since cells replicate, any genetic damage not fixed will get replicated too. Even though you shed skin layers, all you get on the bottom are more bad skin like the poop smeared tissues