Hi, FlyerTalk. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I did do a cursory search but haven't found anything close, and I really need some advice.

I'm a fairly young (early 20s) survivor of breast cancer. As a result, I had to have a skin-sparing bilateral mastectomy. I've had my incredible awesome prosthetic breasts, which help me preserve some sense of normalcy, for about 8 years.

It's come to my attention that such devices will generate additional TSA scrutiny, and on at least one closed board another survivor mentioned that the TSA agent she'd dealt with was extremely humiliating and insisted that, after she went through the new-tech scanner, that both of her prostheses needed to be swabbed for explosives and in fact grabbed one of them out of her bra. It's bad enough that apparently prosthetic breasts are seen as a threat, but this kind of behavior terrifies me. Additionally, women who've opted out report similarly troubling behavior during the part of the pat-down that focuses on the breast, and younger cancer survivors have reported TSA doubt and unpleasant comments from TSA agents when screened; it further doesn't help that it seems like these invasive scans/searches target younger women disproportionately often, or commenters here and elsewhere note that.

My home airport (Sea-Tac) no longer has any lanes where one can automatically avoid the new-tech scanners; the checkpoint for Terminal C used to be safe but apparently is no longer.

I need your advice, FlyerTalkers. My husband and I are pondering canceling our plans to fly to his parents in TN for Christmas; the airport coming back is safe, as it's far too minor for the scanners, and we're going through DFW so we can stay safely behind security. What the heck do I do? I'm lost, confused, and I really don't want to wreck my husband's family tradition. What's worked for keeping TSA agents in line without causing the specter of legal trouble?