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August 7, 2011

Bladder cancer survivor Thomas Sawyer, 62, made headlines last November when TSA security officials unhooked his urine bag during a pat down. Now he is filing a complaint with the Transportation Security Administration, reports MSNBC.

While traveling through Detroit Metro Airport on July 14 on his way to Orlando, Sawyer was again singled out for the TSA pat-down.

"Before I could even get (out) the words, 'I want this done privately,' the agent began patting me down in public," said Sawyer to MSNBC. "I said 'Whoa! I have a medical condition.' He said, 'I know,' and continued the pat-down."

According to TSA policy, travelers "should be offered a private screening before the beginning of a pat-down inspection if the pat-down will require the lifting of clothing and/or display of a covered medical device."

Because Sawyer, of Houghton Lake, Michigan, feels that this policy was violated he formally filed a complaint with TSA on July 20.

"I just don't get it. Why can't the Detroit TSO agents follow the procedures? This pat-down was rough and not done appropriately," said Sawyer. "The screener squeezed my bag several times and they are not supposed to even touch it."

Fortunately Sawyer's urostomy bag did not leak during his most recent trip.

TSA spokesperson Greg Soule said that it takes all passenger's claims seriously.

"We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding this passenger’s screening to determine if the proper procedures were followed," he said to the source.

After the incident last November which left Sawyer feeling "humiliated" and crying, the cancer survivor received a personal apology from John Pistole, a TSA administrator.

Sawyer traveled to Washington D.C. at Pistole's request to offer TSA input on how to better practice its screening process for passengers with medical conditions.

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