Overexposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer in several ways: it damages skin cells' DNA which can cause uncontrolled growth (cancer); it weakens the immune system's ability to fight off cancerous growths; and long-term sun exposure breaks down the fibers that keep skin elastic (elastin), which can also contribute to abnormal cell changes. Specifically, the document cites research finding certain genetic mutations linked to skin cancer occur within weeks of chronic sun exposure without protection. It concludes excessive sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer.

1. Reasons Why Sun Exposure
Will Give You Skin Cancer

2. • Overexposure to the sun does more than make you age
faster; it also increases the risk of skin cancer. Although a
healthy glow is considered an attractive feature, sun
exposure damages the fiber in the skin’s elastin, which
causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose its ability to
bounce back after being stretched. Skin cancer is the
most common form of cancer in the United States and the
numbers keep rising. Here is why you need to protect
yourself in the sun.

3. • Too much exposure to the sun may weaken the immune
system in your skin. According to Kim Kripe, chairman at
the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of
Texas in Houston of the immunology department, “We do
know that ultraviolet light does cause immunological
changes in humans.

4. • That’s clear. It’s a fairly subtle effect. It’s not total immune
suppression like the AIDS virus.” Research shows that
skin cancer due to immune system suppression seems to
affect light skinned and dark skinned people alike.

5. • Sunburn can cause damage to the genetic material in the
skin’s cells. If sunburn happens frequently enough, it can
cause cells to start growing out of control, which may
develop into cancer.

6. • Peeling after sunburn is the body’s way of getting rid of
damaged skin cells that could possibly lead to cancer. But
sometimes even though the skin peels away and forms
new layers, underlying damage can remain. Therefore, it
is important to avoid burning in the first place.

7. • According to the American Cancer Society, people who
use tanning beds are more at risk of developing skin
cancer than people who do not. Individuals who started
indoor tanning before the age of thirty to thirty-five are
most at risk of developing melanoma, which is considered
to be one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer.
People who started using indoor tanning beds before the
age of twenty-five have a greater risk of developing basal
and squamous cell skin cancer.

8. • Research indicates that sun exposure causes a type of
mutation known as p53 in skin cancers at a higher
frequency in skin cancer than in other types of cancer.

9. • The p53 genetic mutation has been shown to arise in
animal studies as early as one week within chronic sun
exposure and reaches its maximum at four to eight weeks
of exposure. Another genetic mutation known as patched
(PTC) has been found on the skin of sun-exposed areas
of the skin.

10. • Sun exposure causes damage to the fibers in skin’s
elastin, which is part of the skin’s connective tissue.
Elastin is what helps your skin return to normal after it has
been poked or pinched.

11. • These fibers begin to break down when they are
overexposed to the sun and may cause sagging and
stretching of the skin. When skin becomes so exposed to
the sun that its elastin starts to break down, it may cause
cellular damage to healthy skin cells that eventually lead
to skin cancer.

12. • https://integrativecancercentersofamerica.com/5-reasons-
why-sun-exposure-will-give-you-skin-cancer