Hundreds of spa hotels back campaign to make the wellness industry more inclusive for cancer patients

“With [this increase], loads of people were being turned away out of fear because the [therapists] didn’t have protocols, they didn’t know enough, and a lot of them are very young and hadn’t had the life experience needed if they came across someone with a mastectomy, a wig, or scarring. So they would turn them away and not always with the right terminology. People were getting very upset about it.”

According to the NHS, one in two people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, with the most common types in the UK being breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer. After six months of lockdown, concerns have been expressed over missed or late cancer diagnoses and the consequences. In June, Cancer Research reported that 2.4 million people in the UK are waiting for cancer screening, treatment or tests, as a result of disruption to the NHS.

Xenia Taliotis, who was diagnosed with lymphoedema eight years ago, told Telegraph Travel that her first year of being a cancer patient was rammed with hospital appointments and being examined by doctors. “I owe my life to those doctors,” she said, “but to counter those examinations, my body also needed some TLC, and for peace of mind, I needed that to come from someone who knew how to treat someone with cancer.