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Over the last years, the spa industry has experienced a strong change regarding the way it implements its service offerings. Treatments for patients suffering from cancer are only one approach the spa industry has been considering as an additional option for expanding its services. Although there are still many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve proper integration between spas and these type of treatments, the health sector offers the spa industry a great opportunity for growth.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n El sector del spa ha vivido durante los \u00faltimo a\u00f1os un fuerte cambio con respecto al modo en el cual est\u00e1 implementando sus servicios. Los tratamientos para pacientes que sufren de c\u00e1ncer son s\u00f3lo uno de los enfoques que la industria del spa ha considerado como una alternativa adicional para ampliar su oferta de servicios. Si bien quedan todav\u00eda muchos obst\u00e1culos que superar para lograr una integraci\u00f3n adecuado entre spas y este tipo de tratamientos, el sector de la salud ofrece grandes posibilidades de crecimiento para el sector del spa.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Evolution of The Spa Industry<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>In recent years, the spa industry has been redefining its service offering approaches. In fact, little by little our industry has been moving away from the idea of \u200b\u200bbeing a field targeted only to a privileged group of people. Thanks in part to the emergence of budget spas, the spa industry has managed to disengage from the idea of \u200b\u200bexclusivity and luxury that has traditionally been associated with this sector.<\/p>\n Along these lines, the spa industry has also started to consider other options that go beyond the wellness concept playing a more active role in the health field. It is precisely in this context that treatments and services for patients with cancer have recently made their debut in the spa industry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Inspiritas<\/a> Case<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>One of the pioneer spas offering treatments for patients with cancer is Inspiritas<\/a>, a wellness centre located in the United States. Inspirita’s success is mostly based on its ability to deliver proven effective treatments provided by a network of well-trained professionals.<\/p>\n Thanks to the combination of traditional Western medicine with complementary therapies, Inspiritas<\/a> provides services and treatments that not only tackle physical pain but also help the patient to improve his\/her mental state. By helping patients to develop a positive mindset, which ultimately strengthens the immune system and accelerates healing, this centre provides patients with the opportunity to feel better about themselves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Obstacles<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Inspiritas’s success is largely based on the ability of this centre to overcome some of the obstacles that currently prevent the spa industry from incorporating cancer treatments into its service offerings.<\/p>\n Recently, Tracy Walton, owner of Tracy Walton & Associates LLC<\/a>, listed some of these obstacles in Spa Business<\/a> Online. The most important obstacle of all deals with the poor level of training and qualification in massage therapy. In fact, many massage therapists were trained with the idea that massage might spread cancer by promoting blood circulation.<\/p>\n This lack of training can also produce harmful effects for patients with cancer. For instance, if not properly applied, heat-based treatments or those dealing with detoxification and skin care can aggravate symptoms and produce lifelong complications.<\/p>\n Tracy Walton argues that massage therapists should work on increasing the knowledge of the patient’s medical history so they can adjust the type of massages provided. She also suggests a continuous education in oncology massage.<\/p>\n A different approach to deal with this issue can be a stronger collaboration between spas and alternative medicine centers in order to get more professional assistance where perhaps a therapist might not feel comfortable without the \u2018go-ahead\u2019 or \u2018prescription\u2019 of a practitioner.<\/p>\n Another obstacle is related to the business model that surrounds spas. According to Lisa Starr, a consultant for Wynne Business<\/a>, one of the challenges is that of turning the spa business model into a more medical service less focused on economic revenue.<\/p>\n Along those lines, the current spa business model also offers an additional obstacle. Although the lack of uniform or global regulations regarding treatments has allowed the spa industry to maintain a certain level of innovation, this also means that one cannot control the quality of treatment (or education) promoting a lack of consumer confidence in spa services.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Despite the obstacles mentioned above, many professionals in the spa industry are optimistic about the integration of this sector with health-related services. Lisa Starr sees a future where the worlds of spas, wellness, and healing morph into a new type of business model.<\/p>\n In short, if the spa industry wants to successfully move into the realm of health-related services, which include treatments for patients with cancer, it should pay attention to two factors: The training of professionals and the review of its business model so it can move from the current retailed-oriented model to a more medical one focused exclusively on the patient. If the spa industry pays attention to these two variables, it will move toward a strong future in the delivery of health-related services including those for patients suffering from cancer.<\/p>\n In the end, the ideal scenario here would be to strike a balance between two extremes as we do not particularly want to face the stringent and inflexible regulations of the medical sector. However, we do need to embrace the need for raising the bar on the level of education therapists receive as well as the need for updating our business model and adapting it to the market\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Evoluci\u00f3n del Sector del Spa<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Durante los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os, la industria del spa ha venido redefiniendo su enfoque de servicios. De hecho, poco a poco dicho sector se ha ido alejando de la idea de ser una industria orientada s\u00f3lamente a un sector privilegiado. Gracias en parte a la aparici\u00f3n del los spas de bajo coste, la industria del spa ha logrado desligarse hasta cierto punto de la idea de exclusividad y lujo que tradicionalmente ha sido asociada a dicho sector.<\/p>\n De la misma forma, el sector del spa ha comenzado a contemplar otras opciones que van m\u00e1s all\u00e1 del simple concepto de bienestar para asumir un papel m\u00e1s activo con respecto a su participaci\u00f3n dentro del sector de la salud. Es precisamente en dicho escenario en donde los tratamientos y servicios para pacientes con c\u00e1ncer han hecho recientemente su aparici\u00f3n en la industria del spa.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n La Experiencia de Inspiritas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Uno de los spas pioneros en la oferta de tratamientos para pacientes que padecen de c\u00e1ncer es Inspiritas<\/a>, un centro de wellness de los Estados Unidos. El \u00e9xito de Inspiritas se ha basado por encima de todo en su capacidad de ofrecer tratamientos con eficacia comprobada y suministrados por profesionales con amplia preparaci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Gracias a la combinaci\u00f3n de medicina tradicional occidental con terapias complementarias, Inspiritas<\/a> provee servicios y tratamientos que no s\u00f3lo se enfocan en los dolores f\u00edsicos sino que tambi\u00e9n ayudan al paciente a mejorar su estado mental. De esta forma, este centro le da la oportunidad al paciente de sentirse mejor consigo mismo ayud\u00e1ndole a desarrollar una mentalidad positiva que en \u00faltimas refuerza el sistema inmunol\u00f3gico y acelera la curaci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Obst\u00e1culos<\/strong><\/p>\n El \u00e9xito de Inspiritas<\/a> se basa en gran parte en la capacidad de dicho centro para superar algunos de los obst\u00e1culos que impiden actualmente al sector del spa lograr acomodar tratamientos para pacientes con c\u00e1ncer dentro de su oferta de servicios.<\/p>\n Recientemente, en la revista Spa Business<\/a> Online, Tracy Walton, propietaria de Tracy Walton & Associates LLC<\/a>, enumer\u00f3 algunos de dichos obst\u00e1culos. El m\u00e1s importante de todos se relaciona con la pobre preparaci\u00f3n que existe en la aplicaci\u00f3n de masajes terap\u00e9uticos. De hecho, muchos terapeutas de masaje fueron formados con la idea de que estos ayudan a propagar el c\u00e1ncer a trav\u00e9s del cuerpo de los pacientes que sufren de esta enfermedad.<\/p>\n Dicha falta de preparaci\u00f3n puede adem\u00e1s producir efectos nocivos para pacientes con c\u00e1ncer. Por ejemplo, el suministro de tratamientos basados en el calor o encaminados a la desintoxicaci\u00f3n y el cuidado de la piel pueden agravar s\u00edntomas y dejar complicaciones para toda la vida.<\/p>\n Tracy Walton sostiene que los masajistas de los spas deben conocer con mayor profundidad la historia cl\u00ednica del paciente con el fin de que puedan ajustar la tipolog\u00eda de masajes suministrados. Igualmente, sugiere una continua formaci\u00f3n de masajes oncol\u00f3gicos.<\/p>\n Un enfoque diferente para tratar esta cuesti\u00f3n radica en dearrollar una colaboraci\u00f3n m\u00e1s estrecha entre spas y centros de medicina alternativa. De esta forma, se podr\u00eda suministrar una ayuda m\u00e1s profesional dento de un contexto en donde el terapeuta no se sentir\u00eda c\u00f3modo sin el ‘visto bueno’ o la ‘receta’ de un m\u00e9dico.<\/p>\n