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ROMULUS, Mich. -- A bladder cancer survivor from Michigan who wears a bag that collects his urine said a security agent at a Detroit airport patted him down so roughly, it caused the bag to spill its contents on his clothing.
Tom Sawyer, a 61-year-old retired special education teacher,
said the experience left him in tears before he caught a flight to
Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 7.
"I was absolutely humiliated. I couldn't even speak," he told
MSNBC.com.
Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole said
he's concerned about people such as Sawyer who have had
uncomfortable experiences with agents.
During an appearance Monday on CBS' "The Early Show," Pistole
expressed "great concern over anybody who feels like they have not
been treated properly or had something embarrassing" happen.
Sawyer said that once he got through security, he changed his
bag, but didn't have time to change his clothing and had to board
the plane soaked in urine.
"I was embarrassed to death," he told the Detroit Free Press.
Sawyer was diagnosed with bladder cancer three years ago and had
to have a procedure that left him with a urostomy bag to catch
rerouted urine.
Claire Saxton, executive director of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy
Network, said she's concerned Sawyer's story is indicative of a
larger trend.
"TSA agents need to be trained to listen when someone tells
them they have a health issue, because the one thing that Tom in
his account talked about was he tried to explain and they just
weren't even interested in listening," Saxton told The Associated
Press.
"No one living with an `ostomy' should be afraid of flying
because they're afraid of being humiliated," she said.