Seattle woman wants to go topless in public pool

SEATTLE, Wa. (WHDH) -- A Seattle woman swimming into controversy because she wanted to swim topless. City officials said no.

But her reasoning left some changing their minds.

Jodi Jaeks was 45 when she found the lump in her breast.

“Invasive ductal. It was stage T2B. I found it during a self-breast exam,” said Jaeks.

They found it relatively early with the radical treatment and the double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.

“My body changed in the way it never had. I always been thin and fit and so that was almost harder to take than the loss of my breast.”

She hoped swimming would ease her back into exercise, so she headed to a city pool. But she found it tough to find a suit that suited her body.

“At that time my port scar was extremely sensitive and my neuropathy was a lot more prominent,” said Jaeks.

So she warned staff.

“I want you to know I’m just going to win my swim suit bottoms and I don't have any breast tissue whatsoever,” Jaeks told them.

She was told she'd have to wear a gender appropriate swim suit.

“I never got in the pool.”

The city agreed to meet with Jaeks next week and they said they may make an exception for her but she hopes for more.

Women going through treatment struggle with body issues.

“There's scars and just the whole self-esteem issue and to the extent we can alleviate a lot of the issues, I think people would be better off,” said Elisa del Rosario of Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

“I saw it as a greater issue to rid us all of the stigma of cancer and make people aware,” said Jaeks.

Jaeks has come to accept her new body and now wants to help other women suffering the same condition to see the beauty in theirs.

City leaders in Seattle said they will consider requests like these on a case-by-case basis. They hope to find a long term solution with breast cancer survivors and support groups.