The article reviews the relationship between aging, cellular senescence, and cancer. It highlights that while aging is characterized by degenerative pathologies, it also promotes hyperplastic pathologies, particularly cancer. The review discusses how cellular senescence, a stress response, links these seemingly opposite phenomena. Senescent cells, which arrest their growth and undergo changes in chromatin organization and gene expression, secrete a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. The SASP includes proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases, which can promote tissue repair or regeneration but also contribute to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases. The article also explores the role of senescent cells in both degenerative and hyperplastic pathologies, emphasizing their potential to drive cancer through the SASP. Additionally, it discusses the paradoxical benefits of senescent cells in tissue repair and immune clearance, and the challenges in understanding their complex roles in aging and age-related diseases.The article reviews the relationship between aging, cellular senescence, and cancer. It highlights that while aging is characterized by degenerative pathologies, it also promotes hyperplastic pathologies, particularly cancer. The review discusses how cellular senescence, a stress response, links these seemingly opposite phenomena. Senescent cells, which arrest their growth and undergo changes in chromatin organization and gene expression, secrete a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. The SASP includes proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases, which can promote tissue repair or regeneration but also contribute to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases. The article also explores the role of senescent cells in both degenerative and hyperplastic pathologies, emphasizing their potential to drive cancer through the SASP. Additionally, it discusses the paradoxical benefits of senescent cells in tissue repair and immune clearance, and the challenges in understanding their complex roles in aging and age-related diseases.