These days I think that I might have spent too few hours floating in the hot springs of Lesvos. Had I done so, I might have stored enough radioactivity in my body to keep the cancer under control.  Now I have to go all the way to a special hospital for radiation therapy to fight those nasty cells,  while all that dancing Lesvian radium was just waiting at home.

When Marie Curie, her husband Pierre, and Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in  1903 for their research on radiation phenomena, they had no idea how revolutionary their invention  would be for modern medicine. Most hospitals today are equipped with a radiology department,  which is necessary but not popular.

That was quite different at the beginning of the twentieth century. Soaking in radioactive baths  became fashionable with the wealthy who could afford spas and perhaps more bottles of radium-enriched water than beer were downed during bathing. In the 1920’s and 30’s people with smaller budgets could get creams, toothpaste, cosmetics, soap and even chocolate that contained a little radium, all of which were believed to be good for the health.

Thus it seems that Lesvos was far ahead of its time in 1909, when the Ottomans, who then still ruled Lesvos, built the Sarlitza Palace in Thermi. The elegant hotel next to the Yellow Springs  became a spa resort that attracted many heads of state. However, the golden age didn’t last long.  In 1912, the Turks were driven off the island, and although French architects were responsible  for the building, the glamour disappeared with the Turks. But the abandoned structure stubbornly  persists: more than a hundred years later, it still stands, and every year the newspapers report that  there are plans to give it a new life. But the springs are gathering dust and poor Sarlitza continues to slowly decline.

The hot springs of Gera have been successfully renovated and were the first on Lesvos to be given a modern makeover. It’s wonderful to relax in their baths, with magnificent views of the beautiful  Gulf of Gera, next to a café, terraces, and a beach.

The Hippocrates Springs in Polichnitos have also been renovated and now meet all the strict  European regulations for a modern spa resort. Polichnitos combines nostalgia for the old baths with all modern comforts. The stream of boiling hot water still meanders undisturbed through the landscape, with brilliant bursts of colour and mysterious clouds of steam.

Many years ago the beautiful baths of Lisvori were ruined by a municipal project, and this once so lovely little complex has now become one of the saddest places on the island, especially for those who remember the glory days of these hot springs, when music, food and drinks were enjoyed during treatments, and happiness radiated from everyone. Now it’s a desolate Greek ruin.

There also is the hot bath of Eftalou. A centuries-old spa from the 17th century where people once  arrived by donkey, horse, or boat to bathe in the scorching water by the sea. They came by doctor’s  prescription, or simply according to folk belief that attributed magical powers to the water. Here  too, there have been rumors going around for a while that this small complex will be transformed  into a modern spa. But as long as the road leading there gives the impression that it could disappear  with the smallest earthquake into the sea, heavy transport is excluded, and so far, as with Sarlitza,  the plans have remained stuck in newspaper articles.

Lesvos, a spa island? Certainly. The hot water, rich in medicinal minerals with a hint of radioactive substances, offer unique opportunities to relax and can help with rheumatism, arthritis, back and  muscle pain, or skin problems. However, no one dares to promote Lesvos as a spa resort; nor do my doctors in Holland. There is no suggestion that instead of going to the hospital, I should go to  Lesvos to wallow in the radioactive spring waters. The portions of radioactivity offered are far too small to have real impact. The springs of Lesvos have  such weak radiation that  my cancer cells  would have a good laugh and my tumors would only be annoyed if I were to step into the Eftalou  baths.

So the hot springs of Lesvos won’t get a hold of my cancer cells; nevertheless with her brilliant  invention, Marie Curie has given many people a formidable weapon against cancer. For me, it only provides a little relief, but that’s also something.