When Sue Watkins heads to the airport, she isn't thinking of the flight, her holiday or her next destination.
Instead she is dreading the ordeal of going through airport security, a process that has become distressing for breast cancer survivors around Australia.
Ms Watkins was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and underwent a mastectomy and now uses a breast prosthesis.
When travelling from Perth in October, she was stopped by security who detected her prosthesis and patted her down in public.
On her return trip through Melbourne, the scanner went off again, and she was taken into a private room.
"I was actually asked to remove my prosthesis which I found quite distressing because it's something that not many people see," she said.
"In fact it's probably only my husband and I that see it, and it's just very personal."
Ms Watkins has explored options and ways to prevent her prosthesis becoming an issue in transit, but documentation such as letters from a doctor are not accepted by airport security.
"So I have to do this all over again. I've now spent the last couple of months plotting how I can avoid it but anyways, I've put on my big girl pants today and I've left [my prosthesis] in," she said.
Ms Watkins said some staff members she had spoken to did not even know what a breast prosthesis was.
She said she empathised with other people diagnosed with cancer in the same situation and said the emotional impact could be devastating.
"I'm just so grateful they didn't have body scans when I flew four years ago, and I was in the middle of chemo," Ms Watkins said.
"If the same experience had happened then, I think I would have been a mess.
"You come out of it stronger and changed, but it's confronting to have to continue to be reminded of it all the time."
Advocates call for empathy and understanding
Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) has called on airports to improve their treatment of travellers with breast prostheses in light of numerous reports from distressed women.
BCNA director of policy and advocacy Vicki Durston said the organisation had received more than 10 calls from women this year alone about their treatment in airport security screening.
Ms Durston said being confronted publicly by airport security compounded negative emotions related to their illness.
"What we're seeing is that people are asked to remove their prosthesis in public. And that's just not appropriate," she said.
"You can imagine the distress of wearing a prosthesis for people that have gone through a cancer diagnosis and a mastectomy can be really triggering."
Ms Durston called on airports around the country to train security staff around awareness and empathy for passengers using prostheses.
"We want to emphasise the importance of airports to take responsibility," she said.
"It is their obligation to ensure that their staff are aware and a trained as a long-term measure."
Airports restricted by federal policy
Full-body scanners were mandated by the Australian government in 2018 to replace traditional metal detectors and are installed in most major airports.
The scanners are able to pick up a range of metallic and non-metallic items, including prostheses that may be obscured under clothing.
Perth Airport said its security screening requirements were set federally through the Department of Home Affairs and it was unable to change its policies.
"We appreciate and accept this is a sensitive and delicate situation but we are required to follow the regulations set down by the federal government," a Perth Airport spokesperson said.
"There are standard operating procedures on how to deal with secondary screening, including the rights of passengers to request a private room and a security staff member of the same gender to conduct the screening.
"Perth Airport is more than happy to work with the Breast Cancer Network to ensure passengers understand both the processes and their rights, and to ensure they have the best possible travel experience."
In November, Canberra Airport teamed up with Cancer Council ACT to deliver first-of-its-kind prosthesis training to security staff.
The training detailed different breast forms, describing how cancer patients felt when faced with scanners, and outlined language staff could use with customers.
A Melbourne Airport spokesperson said the airport would be "open to training" if it was available.
