An unexpected diagnosis: Doreen’s story

Artist, photographer, innkeeper, tea enthusiast, gallery manager and survivor.

Those are just a few of the roles Doreen has mastered over the years. An energetic 66-year-old, Doreen manages a tea and gift shop, “Get Loose Tea & Art,” in Sarasota, Florida with her wife Lisa.

Diagnosed with hepatitis C at only 23, Doreen didn’t let it slow her down. As a successful photographer in New York City for over two decades, Doreen’s work was featured in New York Magazine, Modern Bride, Golf World, Wedding Pages, among other publications.  

After managing an award-winning inn and gallery in Cape Cod’s Provincetown for several years, Doreen and Lisa started looking for that perfect place to retire.

“Once we found Sarasota, we knew that was where we wanted to land. We sold everything we had, bought a home and opened our tea and gift shop in November 2015,” Doreen says.

Less than a year later, Doreen noticed some bleeding. Her gynecologist did a biopsy and shared devastating news: she had uterine cancer.