Bully for her

Breast cancer survivor can now swim topless in Seattle's public pools

Jodi Jaecks, the 47-year-old breast cancer survivor who made local headlines this week for wanting to swim topless at a Seattle-area pool, had tried many things to soothe the nerve pain she suffered following a double mastectomy and chemotherapy last year.
Drugs, physical therapy and specific pain treatments all failed to ease the burning caused by chest-wall nerves that are over-stimulated by the trauma of surgery. So when the facilitator of a breast cancer support group suggested she try swimming, Jaecks jumped on the idea.
"Water sounded soothing," she says.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find a women's swimsuit that didn't irritate her pain further. She asked authorities for the ability to swim topless; she has neither breasts nor nipples. At first they cited the idea that it would not work in a family-pool situation. Then a local paper printed a picture of her nude from the waist up, and the authorities relented, with a promise of reviewing other requests on a case-by-case basis for now, but perhaps eventually opening it up to all breast care survivors.

I understand nerve pain a bit. There are times when my feet are burning and painful, and I have to take my shoes off because I can't handle anything on them. Even the slightest touch is awful. But I can discreetly take off my shoes in public, especially if I keep them under my desk. It's a little different dealing with the chest nerves, and in her case medicine did not work. Anyway, I'm glad she got to swim after all.