Recomendations needed for breast cancer survivor

[jeremy]

  My wife recently finished treatment for breast cancer and we've been looking at spas as way to spoil ourselves (mostly her!) some.  Due to several lymph nodes being removed, the doc recommends that the arm not be submerged for more than a few minutes at a time.  I was curious if anyone might be able to make some personal recommendations or at least recommend a spa that might be more accommodating to propping the left arm out of the water.  We're looking for something in the 5 to 6 person range as we do a lot of entertaining. Thanks!

[PotomacG]

jeremy,

Most, if not all corner seats in a tub would allow the soaker to hang either arm out of the water using the tub's outer ledge.  You guys need to go wet test a bunch of spas to find one with the correct depth for your wife's comfort.  You can also use a booster seat for a while to raise her higher up in the tub until her she has fully recuperated.  Good  luck tub shopping  

[drewstar]

Hi Jeremy,

I'm hoping that things are turning a corner for you and your family in a good direction.   A hot tub is a great way to spoil yourselves.  

The best advice I could recomend is to wet test.  I'd think a shallower tub with a decent "lip/edge" would work best. I would think a deeper tub with sculpted seating would be harder for a person to raise thier arms up and out of the water and be difficult to rest thier arm comfortabley on the edge of the tub.  A big factor would be how tall your wife is. If she's tall then  deeper tubs may not be an issue. However, a shorter person might find it difficult to lift thier arms comfortably out of a deep tub.

I'd inclined to also suggest a tub that has open seating (benchlike seating, as opposed to deep bucket seats) would also be more comfortable for someone to lift and arm out and rest it on the edge.

[wmccall]

I'd inclined to also suggest a tub that has open seating (benchlike seating, as opposed to deep bucket seats) would also be more comfortable for someone to lift and arm out and rest it on the edge.

That maybe a good point.  How tall is she?  At 6.2 I can put my arm on the side of the rail from any seat, except the lounger in which I could only do that with my right arm.

[drewstar]

I'd inclined to also suggest a tub that has open seating (benchlike seating, as opposed to deep bucket seats) would also be more comfortable for someone to lift and arm out and rest it on the edge.

That maybe a good point.  How tall is she?  At 6.2 I can put my arm on the side of the rail from any seat, except the lounger in which I could only do that with my right arm.

On my Caspain, one corner has open seating and  many times it's my seat of choice when just soaking to relax (as opposed to using the tub to work out a sore muscle or kinked back).  In the open corner, I can rest both my arms up on the edge of the cool down seat.  Two other corners have sculpted bucket seats with great massages but  I'd think you'd be hard pressed to get your arms up and out of the water comfortable for any leaght of time.

[svspa]

jeremy,

Hope everything is going well, I have a niece who recently went through surgery and is now in chemo treatments for breast cancer.

If it's not too much trouble be sure and have your wife wet test the spas you are interested in. At least dry test but you won't get the same impression from a spa when just dry testing (the bouyancy factor).

This will really tell you and your wife which spa is most comfortable for her special consideration.

Steve

[anne]

I completely agree that you need to wet test if possible, since comfort is so individual, and you are looking for a pretty specific feature. I dont necessarily agree that open seating is the way to go, though, since I think you'd have to be pretty tall for an arm to fir comfortably over the side of the tub. A lot of tubs have arm rests, I think, both above and below the water line. There are twoseats in my tub with arm rests very comfortable for me. One seat has two sets:  one allows for my arm to be fully out of the water and the other would have my arm submerged but still a bit elevated:


In this pic, the water level is higher than avaerage by about 1 inch. The placement of the "headrest" is a bit decieving, too: my lower neck actually rests there, so my arms are comfortable below my shoulders even on the top arm rest.


 


In the other seat, the arm rests are definitely below the water line:


This is just one example, of course. I'm 5'4", so a taller person may feel differently. That is where the wet test comes in!!!! I wish you both tremendous luck shopping out there, and I hope you find just the right spa to pamper your wife soon!

[jeremy]

Hello again.

Thank you all for the responses and encouragement.  We defiantly plan to do some wet testing and I'm sure even dry testing will let her determine if the position is comfortable.  She is around 5'4" so shallow is probably the key.

My folks' tub has a "cool down" lounge area that is real shallow, but of course they aren't returning my calls or emails (can't say that I blame them!).

Is there a comprehensive (or mostly) list of manufacturers somewhere?  I prefer to research products before I go talk to a person about them.

Anne, which model Arctic is that?  There is an Artic dealer less than 4 miles from my house, maybe I'll grab the wife and go for a looksie after work.

Thanks!

[drewstar]

Anne's pics of the arm rest in her tub certainly sound like a tub to check out.  Are there other tubs out there with arm rests?

[anne]

My tub is a Summit, but I think that other models have similar seats. I really love the seat with the two sets of arm rests, since I use the lower  set when I want arm support but want to be fully submerged, and the higher set when I need to cool of a bit but want the rest  of me still in the water. Good luck!