OUR ancestors ate, drank, made merry – yet lived almost as long as we do, writes Verite Reily Collins.
Every year some went abroad to ‘take the cure’, and Edward VII was a frequent spa visitor, accompanied by Caesar, his dog. The Duke of Westminster would take his Duchess, install her at Brides-les-Bains, then rush across France to join Coco Chanel in her spa holiday at Biarritz.
French cancer survival rates are far higher than ours, so when my cancer specialist’s only suggestion to treat nasty side effects from treatment was, “do you want to come off the drug”, I decided to follow celebrities like Kylie Minogue.
Tapping into French after-care I was helped to stay on the drugs, and will hopefully live a lot longer, although sadly, in Britain, over 50 per cent come off these life-prolonging treatments because the NHS does nothing to help.
With some of the best post operation treatment in the world, anyone feeling stressed out, fragile or just low after NHS treatment, especially after cancer or heart operations, will find superb TLC allied to strict controls at French medical spas.
But don’t just go to a spa; the French take spas seriously, and fit their holiday around medical problems, as I found out when researching for after-cancer.com.
Brides-les-Bains is for losing weight. Food is gourmet cuisine, but what looks like high menu prices are actually calorie counts; and dessert courses have delicious surprises. In the centre of the town is the massive thermal spa, offering quiet, luxurious pampering.
Feeling totally stressed out, my therapist set to work, unknotting muscles, relaxing nerves and leaving me in a state of bliss, after the first treatment your body slows down, you take time over your meal, and it’s not surprising that people around look equally unstressed.
The Duchess of Westminster would holiday at the Grand Hotel des Termes, cocooned in luxury. Slightly less expensive, is the lovely Hotel Golf, which TripAdvisor rates as its favourite. Bedrooms, especially on the first floor, are huge, and the bath goodies sumptuous. The breakfast buffet is enough to set you up for the day, and staff run round being helpful.
The spa specialises in treatments for weight loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and backache.
Aix-les-Bains offers luxury treatments, especially for neck and throat cancers, and here UK patients find meticulously targeted therapies. They take post cancer care seriously here, and whilst you are enjoying yourself, your body is setting up a system to help you recover.
The doctor showing me around proudly pointed out specially-developed little gadgets that target streams of warm, healing water directly at wound sites, and every treatment room we went past had patients sitting with blissful expressions on their faces.
If you want medical treatment, as opposed to spa pampering, you will need a referral letter from your doctor. Request an English-speaking doctor, and once they have assessed you, therapists and other staff looking after you often speak excellent English; but medicine is international, so just leave them to sort out your problems.
The spa also has an effective ‘giving up smoking’ course.
La Roche Posay is the busiest dermatology centre in Europe, treating over 10,000 French people a year with skin problems.
They have developed such effective skincare products (all rigorously clinically trialled) that these are sold worldwide.
The spa is in Poitou-Charente, and legend has it that in the Middle Ages Bertrand du Guesclin stopped to drink the thermal waters when riding through. His horse, suffering from eczema, immersed itself in the water, and was cured.
So if the waters are good enough for horses it must be good enough for us!
They treat all sorts of skin conditions, including psoriasis, run a clinic helping people with burns and birthmarks, and are excellent for dealing with skin side effects from cancer drugs.
Treatments use Selenium-rich water, leaving your skin incredibly smooth, and wraps and massages are designed to repair skin, and as they say “improve our daily lives”.
There is a charming Art Deco hotel, and also more modern hotels in the town, all within a short walk of the thermal treatment centre.
And for a list of establishment, as well as background information on thermal care in France, visit the Site Officiel du Thermalisme Français.
Verite Reily Collins has used her experience of being a writer and journalist to look further into the after-care treatments offered cancer survivors after suffering the side-effects of Tamoxifen. Her work has seen her start the website after-cancer.com, which aims to help others facing similar problems.