These experiences have left Paul reluctant to travel through airports.
“It’s completely changed my thought process of going on holiday. I don’t want to fly,” he said.
His next holiday will be a cruise leaving from Southampton, allowing him to avoid the stress he associates with flying.
“I’ve got next year to get through and I’ll be hopefully cancer free. You know, we’ve got loads of life left in us and we still want to go on holiday.”
Paul’s experience is not unique, according to the Ileostomy and Internal Pouch Association (IA).
It has a survey open which has received 70 responses and identified 16 different UK airports where people have reported negative stoma-related incidents.
IA chief executive officer Lisa Barker said people were being forced to make a choice between living with a stoma and getting to travel, and that airport security procedures caused “a lot of stress and anxiety”.
The organisation offers a free service providing travel certificates explaining a person’s condition which can be shown to airport staff, but Lisa wants that information translated into better understanding.
“What we want is that once that information is shared, the knowledge about that then enables them to have a dignified process,” she said.
Emma Greenwood is an internal pouch nurse specialist and has a stoma – she said she had faced similar problems at airports.
“If you’re spoken to abruptly or fairly aggressively in some situations, it can naturally be quite upsetting and it can have a negative impact on your holiday,” she said.
Emma said people with pouches could be self-conscious and sensitive and may be particularly concerned about being embarrassed during security checks.
“It’s a quick win to be kind to someone,” she said.
“It’s not a massive adjustment that the majority of people are asking for.”
The CAA said it placed obligations on airports “to ensure their staff receive disability awareness training” and expected security officers to engage with passengers in “a sensitive and understanding manner”.