The irony of telomeres is that you actually can lengthen them with telomerase, making them close to immortal, but sadly this also promotes cancer.

https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/labs/shay/research/facts-about-telomeres-telomerase.html#:~:text=Telomerase%2C%20also%20called%20telomere%20terminal,cells%2C%20and%20also%20tumor%20cells.

As such, cell aging brings us closer to death but also helps prevent cancer, in a sense. I'm for happy mediums!