Going to La Roche Posay in France for skin care after cancer

La Roche Posay

Is one of the best medical spas I have ever visited.  When my skin was rough, peeling and horrid to look at, from Tamoxifen and the other drugs I was on, their doctors just examined me – sent me off for lovely spa therapies, and put me in the hands of nurses who asked questions, examined my skin again, then finally dispensed a prescription from the doctors that gave me a goodies bag full of La Roche Posay products, specially developed to help cancer skin.

All this whilst I was sharing the experience with Frenchwomen who had been sent by their doctors to sort out side effects from their cancer drugs.  The only difference being that the British have to pay – over 8,000 French people a year will probably get this treatment as part of their health service.

The Spa lies in the Poitou-Charente (in the North West Corner of France), so is less expensive than spas on the fashionable East side, but has lots for the family to do.  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!

In 1617 Pierre Million, doctor to Kings Henry IV and Louis XIII, analysed the water and was so impressed that the newly-founded Science Academy sent people to test the water -and the spa of La Roche Posay was founded. Napoleon built a thermal hospital there for his soldiers, and it has never looked back. In 1913 the Thermal Station was officially declared a Hydrothermal Station by the Academy of Medicine, and today it is the busiest dermatology centre in Europe.

They treat all sorts of skin conditions, including running a marvellous clinic to teach people suffering from burns and birthmarks, how to cover these up with make-up.  But I had come to try those treatments using the soothing Selenium-rich water (probably what cured the horse so it should do for me): fine-jet showers, which play over your body whilst you are massaged lying on a bed underneath, leaving your skin incredibly smooth.  Dermatological wraps and massages are also designed to give us a soft skin, and as they say “improve our daily lives”.

The town is the parent company of the excellent skincare products, La Roche Posay. Their products are only sold via chemists, and there are various ranges tailored to specific skin problems. If your skin is extra-sensitive, they even have a special range – Toleriane. You can now get all of these in Britain, and rumour has it that some patients in UK have been sent here on NHS for treatment for skin problems. Like all such rumours, the NHS doesn’t want this advertised – but it is worth while trying at least!

There is a charming Art Deco hotel, and suites in the hotel are not expensive, but give a touch of Hollywood glamour to a family holiday. There are also more modern hotels in the town, all within a short walk of the thermal treatment centre.

Here I had a ‘massage under water’ where you lie on a waterproof-covered table, with jets of water playing over your body whilst the therapist massages you. Afterwards my skin was incredibly soft (and I felt wonderful). Apparently the minerals in the water help the softening process and are excellent for cancer-stressed skin. The spa has also devised an incredible array of stunning cosmetics for disguise and glamour.

You can get more information from www.france-thermale.org currently only in French – but you never know!  In the meantime if you cut and paste into Google Translation, it will come up with the information in English.

So you don’t have to be a celebrity to go to France for some of the best post cancer treatment in the world for nasty side effects. You don’t have to be rich either, as treatments and hotel packages are designed for French people. They do not like spending too much!

Bon Voyage!