The Sweat Box

Something else I did on holiday!

I was on a family holiday but also a chemo holiday. After just 3 treatment sessions, I needed the break from the harsh side effects. I didn’t think it would be as bad and thought I would tolerate chemotherapy better than I have done.

So the only way to travel to LA and sit on an 11 hr flight was to have a chemo break! Due to the timing and the holidays etc this meant me having about 3 weeks without treatment. Eeekk, a scary thought. I am taking a break from cancer but is cancer taking a break from me? What is going on inside of me during that time? What are the stupid cancer cells doing? Is it the right thing to do? Well yes it is was the right thing to do on a number of levels and for the whole family after the year we have had.

There is no getting away from it. I was on holiday but each day revolved around detoxing my body and boosting my immune system. This is what I could do for myself. So plenty of lemon water, the right juices, salads and…. the Infared Sauna.

A quick google search brought me to The Sweat Box and in a jam packed 6 days, I managed 2 sessions !!!

https://www.sweatboxsb.com/?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=SantaClarita

I cannot sit for very long in a regular sauna but due to the way these saunas work, the temperature is more tolerable in infared saunas, easier to sit in and you can get a greater benefit a in a shorter space of time and just sweat all those toxins out, which I am currently carrying a lot of around my body due to my harsh treatment!

We were greeted by a very polite and cheery Desiree, who showed us around. Made us comfortable. The Sweat Box is a lovely quiet spa like experience and who doesn’t love a bit of spa time! You can choose your colour, choose your oil, crank up the heat and sit back and relax for 30 mins! There are saunas for one, two and three people available. We used the latter since we were first time users but moved to the 2 people sauna on our return which we found heated up much faster.

The infared sauna has many health benefits. As well as burning a mighty 600 calories, per session, this type of therapy boosts the immune system, totally detoxifies the body and sometimes can be used alongside chemotherapy and radiation.

I was on hols so hadn’t done all my research but I have heard of infared treatment being bounced around in the cancer world. Cancer cells cannot tolerate such high temperatures causing them to just pop away…. apoptosis! This occurs without damage to normal cells. It is not that simple otherwise we would all live in these saunas but I’m willing to give myself a little infared while I am here.

This type of therapy is sometimes recommended by some teams in conjunction with other treatments or in a more targeted way. I love the heat and the feeling of all those toxins just dripping out of me so this was a real pampering session for me both physically and mentally.

I am currently having chemotherapy for the second time now and it has had long term effects on my body. I cannot tolerate the cold at all and it immediately affects my immune system. The one thing anyone can do when feeling a bit run down is to look after no 1. Do what it takes to relax the body and mind, try fit a pampering session in a few times a week to keep those happy cells floating around.

I came out feeling totally detoxed, relaxed and energised. After a slow cool down session and plenty of water and a small salt cocktail for re-hydration, I was ready for my day!

As always, my research is now your research!

https://beatcancer.org/blog-posts/6-ways-saunas-help-fight-cancer

This is me glowing after my sweat box session. I’m thinking in all that heat, I may have popped a few cancer cells away! Thank you Jason for accomodating us at your lovely Sweat Box, I will certainly fit in a few more session during my next trip to LA.