Until now it’s been difficult for cancer patients, whether undergoing treatment or in remission, to easily book spa treatments, either being turned away because therapists lacked the necessary training or simply not knowing which spas could treat them. 

Understanding that spa and wellness treatments can restore a sense of self ‘through touch in a caring environment’ Sue Harmsworth MBE launched a new Standard Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) this week, providing a recognised level of training for therapists and venues providing spa treatments for those living with cancer. The timing is coincidental but vital, with reports of screenings delayed through the covid crisis, potentially leading to a sharp rise in diagnosis.

Best known as the founder of ESPA, Sue has long been involved with wellness and health, from running Grayshott Health Spa to being on the Board of the Global Wellness Summit and the Global Wellness Institute and is deeply motivated to creating a safe, high level of care for people with cancer.

In creating SATCC, Sue partnered with Spabreaks.com, founded by Abi Selby, and Think Tree Hub, a professional body for complementary therapy and healthcare providers, headed by Kush Kumar, spending a year perfecting the standard and building a database of spas that offer therapists trained to provide spa treatments for those living with cancer. Now some 230 spas and independent practioners across the UK and Ireland can be searched for using the Safe Hands Collection featured on Spabreaks.com

In Essex, so far three spas listed include the contemporary Lifehouse Spa & Hotel in the coastal countryside near Frinton, Essex, grand manor house Down Hall Hotel & Spa near Hatfield Forest on the Essex-Hertfordshire border and the Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa country resort close to the Dedham Vale, on the Essex-Suffolk border.