New airport body scanners to include free cancer screening

Travelers will receive health report printout after passing through security

Grinan Barrett
La Lune de la presse internationale

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Department of Homeland Security announced early Tuesday that the new body scanners being placed in airports throughout the country would offer free cancer screening to passengers who pass through them. A printout will be provided to all travelers upon completion of their security checks, indicating their threat level score as well as any potential cancerous tumors they may currently have.

"We felt this was a great service we could offer to the public, in addition to providing safer air travel," said DHS spokesman Holden M. Downe. "This way passengers can reduce their exposure to harmful x-rays by consolidating their regular doctor visits for cancer screenings, by simply opting to pass regularly through our airport body scanners."

"I guess this is a good idea. I mean, who wouldn't want to have a free cancer screening," said Delta pilot Landon Tarmacque. "Just last week I had brought my daughter to the airport with me, and we found out she has advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma. It really was a relief to have that body scanner printout."

While the body scanners are currently optional for passengers, DHS hopes that more people will choose to use them by offering the benefits of free cancer detection. If this fails to entice those passing through security, Downe explained, DHS will lobby Congress to make the body scanners obligatory for all travelers. The cancer screenings would still be included free of charge, he has told the La Rochelle Times.