France provides excellent after-care for coping with after-effects from treatment

REHAB THE FRENCH WAY

After they leave hospital, the French will often get their doctor to book them in to a spa for rehabilitation.

In France they have been going to spas for centuries, and are serious about spa treatment – probably the most serious in Europe.  They have a superb selection of health spas which come under the Government health scheme, so you can be sure that the pampering you get has a solid medical basis.

Lying back having a massage, it is comforting to know you can justify this by saying it is beneficial for your health!

France is especially good at treating the effects of cancer, such as side effects from hormonal and other drugs;  something we neglect in Britain. In France, they realise that if you are on medicinal drugs and pain killers, the side effects are going to be with you for a long time, and they are working constantly to improve patients’ lives. They monitor patient’, and provide help and back-up constantly to deal with side effects.

The French are also good at treating skin problems for men and women;  they don’t think we should put up with these – rather, their doctors work hard to restore your skin to a healthy balance.

So when you need treatment and help dealing with side effects – or a large dose of TLC- there is nothing to stop you tapping in to post cancer treatments in France, where their survival rates are some of best in the world – way above Britain.

Best way to get any treatment in France is to get a letter of introduction from any of your doctors, listing what treatments you have had.  Send a copy to the Medical Director of your chosen spa, and you are in the system. If you can’t find the right person, the tourist office will be able to help. If you doctor considers this nonsense and won’t co-operate, then you make an appointment to see an English speaking doctor at the spa, and take it from there. You will have to pay a small amount for the appointment, but nothing like what a private doctor’s visit costs in the UK.

Aix-les-Bains luxury treatments for cancer.

In France doctors understand side effects of hormonal drugs, and want to help you get through the five years’ treatment cycle as easily and painlessly as possible. You will find expert help, allied to proven therapies, and you can lie back and enjoy being pampered, knowing that the massage or treatment you are having is supervised by medical staff, who spend their working life helping get the best possible results for their patients.

After cancer treatment in London, I tapped into the French system, and every few weeks off I go for a short break. Talking to doctors about any niggling worries or problems that have cropped up, I then indulge in treatments, and the only nasty side is knowing that many of the local patients are getting this on their health schemes and aren’t paying!

There doesn’t seem to be a language problem. For your first appointment you can request an English-speaking doctor, and once they have assessed you, they will assign therapists and other staff to look after you. Many of these speak excellent English, and if not, medicine is international; they know their job, so just leave them to sort out your massage, skin problems, or whatever.

Most of the medical spas that specialise in post cancer treatment have the word ‘Bain’ in their names; this is because treatments followed healing thermal waters. Loo under the various categories for some of my favourite places for TLC treatment .

TREATMENT CENTRES IN FRANCE

Two friends who live down the street were surprised and pleased at how easy it is to get treatment in Europe. They knew I had been there to get help with cancer side effects, and were impressed.   So here, straight from the horse’s mouth, is what it’s like to go off abroad for treatment. Both had been passed around from one NHS pillar to another medical post, were fed up with years of waiting and wrong diagnosis, and just wanted to get things done. Now, they almost automatically book to go to France when they need treatment.

“When I wanted to find a prostate specialist when I had to go to Lyon, I merely googled :”Prostate specialists in Lyon” and up came various names, one of whom I called , got on to her secretary, and booked myself in. The cost was less than in London for seeing someone of comparable quality, I was seen immediately and laboratory tests were done on the same day, also at less cost, with the results coming through quite quickly.

When Robin had a problem with ingrowing toenails some years ago, we saw a French doctor within 10 minutes and the antibiotics were produced immediately, all at much less cost than here ( the doctor was in Paris ).

When needing a scan in Lyon, we booked up the appointment to coincide with our holiday in the South of France. No waiting, the scan cost £80 instead of £800 over here, and a doctor explained the results immediately afterwards in very good English. This was not on the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) as it was pre-booked. However, further tests were done by my friend Dr Degraix, one of the leading ENT specialists in Lyon, and drops were duly administered for the infection which cured it in 7 days, whereas it had taken months of footling around in the U.K and we didn’t get anywhere.

When in France, we are always falling off rocks, pulling muscles diving into swimming pools, getting appalling stomach upsets after yet another 5 course Michelin meal, and always having to see a doctor or go to hospital to get cured. The results are always much better than in the U.K, cheaper and more effective.

It is also definitely worth comparing medical costs on a pre booked basis between here and France, and I haven’t seen or heard much about MRSA or whatever the latest bug is, but the French seem to have that under control”.