If you''ve been skimping on the sunscreen this summer, an O''Fallon, Missouri woman''s experience may have you running for shade the next time you''re outdoors.

She was just 25 when she was diagnosed with melanoma. Statistics show this most serious of skin cancers is on the rise in young people.

Spending time pool side is one of the joys of summer for many families. But for Adrienne Scachitti and her family, spending time in the sun comes only after slapping on sun block, sunglasses and a hat.

Five years ago, Adrienne was diagnosed with melanoma. A doctor found it by accident during a trip to the dermatologist for dry skin, "He saw a mole on my arm and said ''Have you ever had that checked out before?'' and I said no and he said ''It''s textbook melanoma.''"

Having spent her teen years tanning, Adrienne says the diagnosis still came as a complete surprise. But the bad news didn''t end there, "I''ve had probably 15 different moles removed, seven of them have come back melanomas."

"In our practice we are seeing an increased number of young patients coming in with melanoma and other skin cancers," explains Dr. Roberta Sengelmann, a dermatologic surgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center.

Dr. Sengelmann''s experience is reflected in national figures from the American Cancer Society. While the number of actual cases among young people is relatively small, they have increased steadily since 1975.

• Among people 20 to 24 from 1975 to 1981, 4 cases of melanoma were diagnosed per 100,000.

• That number rose to 5 per 100,000 between 1996 and 2002.

• In people in Adrienne''s age group 25 to 29, the incidence was 6 cases per 100,000 people from 1975 to 1981.

• That number''s now risen to 8 cases per 100,000 in that age group.

"We''re actually doing a study to look at the numbers of patients and the characteristics of those patients to see what it is about them that sets them up for this. And we''re probably going to see that it''s sun exposure," says Dr. Sengelmann.

But that''s not the only factor contributing to the rise. Dr. Sengelmann says thanks to better screening, skin cancer is being found in earlier stages. And she also believes the environment, specifically the thinning of the ozone, is boosting rates of melanoma in the young.

Here are the ABC''s of melanoma. Look for asymmetry, or an irregularly shaped mole with an irregular border. It will vary in color and be more than six millimeters in diameter. And look for elevation or enlarging. If you think any spot on your skin looks suspicious, see a dermatologist.

"Melanoma often times does not have symptoms. It doesn''t itch, often it doesn''t burn, it doesn''t bleed, it''s not going to jump out at you," says Dr. Sengelmann.

These factors also raise your risk of skin cancer: a family or personal history of melanoma or atypical moles, having a large number of moles, living in a sunny climate as a child, and having light eyes, light skin and light or red colored hair.

Since Adrienne''s diagnosis, her father was found to have several basal cell skin cancers. Now, she not only wears sun block daily, but takes extra precautions to protect her children as well.

"Lots of sunscreen, wearing a hat, keeping your sunglasses on, you keep reapplying, you take different breaks." And she''s grateful that her melanomas have been found in the earliest, most treatable stage.

"We''re just really blessed. It could have been so much worse."