Cancer survivor forced to show prosthetic boob during US airport pat-down
By ANISaturday, November 20, 2010
LONDON - A prosthetic cancer survivor was asked to show her breasts to a security agent during pat-down at Charlotte International Airport, in the US.
Cathy Bossi, from South Charlotte, has been a flight attendant for over 30 years and has worked for U.S. Airways for the past 28 years.
The three-year-breast cancer survivor agreed, but was then asked by two female Charlotte TSA agents to go to a private room for further screening after going through full body scanners, and they began what Bossi described as an aggressive pat down.
She said they stopped when they got around to feeling her right breast - the one she had lost through her illness.
“She put her full hand on my breast and said, ‘What is this?’. And I said, ‘It’s my prosthesis because I’ve had breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘Well, you’ll need to show me that’,” the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.
She was then also asked to remove the prosthetic breast from her bra and show it to the TSA agents.
“I did not take the name of the person at the time because it was just so horrific an experience, I couldn’t believe someone had done that to me. I’m a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work,” she said.
Bossi has since contacted the Legislative Affairs Team provided through her flight attendant union because she wants to see a crackdown on personal pat-downs.
A TSA representative said although agents are allowed to ask to see and touch any passengers’ prosthetic, they are not supposed to be removed and will investigate this matter. (ANI)