Cancer is a case of normal cells going bad and then growing at an alarming rate. This population of abnormal cells becomes more and more massive until they take over resources of blood supply and nutrients. It's an unchecked revolution in your body. "Oncogenesis" is the medical name for this process of transformation that occurs when healthy cells become malignant. In skin cancer it begins with UV radiation causing DNA damage, which in turn causes all kinds of genes to be triggered. For example, there is a specific gene (the P53 tumor suppressor gene) whose job is to regulate the cell growth cycle and to stop tumors. This gene is like an intelligence spy in the field. When it spots something wrong, P53 calls on other genes to create a cell-cycle blockade to stop the growth of the cell so the DNA can be repaired. If a cell has been damaged beyond repair, P53 can induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The damaged cell basically commits suicide, shutting down forever. ("Apoptosis" comes from a Greek word meaning "leaves falling off trees," and the same thing happens here, genetically.) This prevents the retention of mutations. If a cell can't stop to fix its DNA damage, that cell will make a new population of mutated cells, and that is cancer. If the P53 gene, the guardian of the DNA program or genome, is traumatized by sun damage, a mutant population of cells can proliferate. Skin cancers usually occur after years of cumulative sun damage has inactivated P53 tumor suppressor genes, disarmed the immune system, and generated mutant populations of cells that now can grow out of control.
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