Lisa Crites began her studies at Murray State in 1985 as a music major scholarship recipient. While expanding her talent as a classical pianist during her freshman year, she was drawn to journalism.
“The music department was on the 3rd floor, and journalism was on the 6th, of the same building. Once I began hanging out in the 6th floor newsroom, I knew that was the right direction for me, so I decided to forego the scholarship during my sophomore year, to study journalism,” said Crites.
After graduation, she began her career working freelance with the Travel Channel, WKMG Local 6 (Orlando, Florida), and as a part-time anchor for America’s Health Network (on the back lot of Universal Studios Florida), before landing a full-time medical journalism reporting role for Channel 13, a 24-hour CNN affiliate, also in Orlando. Since that time, she has worked on-air with PBS, CNTV, Hometown Health and NADA-TV. In addition to those roles, Crites served as a media coach with Gannett News Service and has been a medical news columnist for various magazines and news platforms for more than a decade.
Robert “Doc” McGaughey was her lifelong friend, mentor and adviser who followed her throughout her career. “Doc McGaughey was always one of my most favorite people on this planet. We stayed close for more than three decades before he passed in 2019. He was such a good, supportive soul, even attending a Kentucky Breast Cancer Luncheon where I was the keynote speaker in 2018,” added Crites.
Lisa had been working in the newsroom for more than a decade when she took a journalism hiatus into the world of medical media strategy to better understand the regulatory side of healthcare.
“That hiatus was only supposed to last for a couple of years, as I hoped to become a more seasoned medical journalist, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and my trajectory changed,” said Crites.
At the age of 41, she underwent a bi-lateral mastectomy. After surgery, she discovered she had post-surgical drains sutured into her armpits. She asked her surgeon when she could shower; he said 2-3 weeks, after drain removal. Why? The drains created an avenue where water could enter her chest, increasing the chance of a water-born illness.
She began researching options to support protective showering and found nothing. “I was told by others having gone through this predicament, if you wanted to shower, cutting, taping and fitting a trash bag over your head, chest and arms was the only option for protection. I kept thinking, women have been going through mastectomy surgery in this country alone for more than 75 years, is this the best the medical industry can do,” asked Crites.
Lisa was determined to create a solution. She sketched a design on a napkin, sent it to her brother, a structural engineer (Charles E. Crites, who also graduated from Murray State). He formalized a design based on a prototype (from a beauty salon cape) sewn by her aunt and cousin using a similar drawing.
Approaching this endeavor with the same rigor and discipline she had applied while working as a broadcast reporter, she researched extensively to patient needs, consulted medical professionals as expert resources, and refined the product design based on real-world use and functionality.
Her product was soon secured by a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark (USPTO) office (No. 8,516,613). Titled, The SHOWER SHIRT™, her design was designated as the first and only patented, water-resistant garment to protect chest surgery patients requiring surgical drains, chemotherapy ports and hemodialysis catheters.
A Class 1 Medical Device, the garment was quickly available at mastectomy boutiques, hospitals, HME and DME locations nationwide, along with e-commerce sites such as AMAZON, Walmart, Cure Diva, Health Products for You, and Pink Lotus. The product has been exported to Canada, England, Ireland, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Austria, Dubai, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, India, Türkiye, South Africa, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the Seychelles.
Lisa was soon featured in FORBES Magazine, the Huffington Post and Readers Digest. She appeared on FOX, NBC, CNN, and Lifetime TV’s, ‘The Balancing Act,’ discussing her invention, and subsequent legislative filing of the ‘Post Mastectomy Infection Reduction Act,’ sponsored by United States Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) and Congressman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL). The legislation addressed critical gaps in post-surgical care and reflected her ability to translate patient experience into actionable healthcare reform, bridging innovation, advocacy and lawmaking.
Soon thereafter, awards were forthcoming. She won an award at the National InnovateHER Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, The Washington Post and Microsoft. This award led her to travel with the U.S. State Department to Singapore to present at the annual meeting of the WE-APEC network, an Asia-Pacific initiative designed to connect women entrepreneurs across the 21 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) economies.
Next was a Patient Innovation Award from the University of Portugal Católica School of Business and Economics, affirming global relevance of her work. That led to an invitation to present The SHOWER SHIRT™ at the World Government Summit, ‘Edge of Government’ exhibit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The medical device is also on display in the London Science Museum, London, England, as part of global medical innovation.
In 2024, Lisa received a Silver Award at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival, a recognized partner of the United Nations and World Intellectual Property Organization. She received an ARCA award from the Croatian Union of Innovators, presented on patent innovation strategies for the USPTO, and nominated as an inductee in the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, also in 2024.
Crites believes the overall success of The SHOWER SHIRT™ lies in its simplicity and qualities rooted in her background as a health and medical journalist as she quickly understood both the science of recovery and the emotional experience of patients. “Though the finite success was knowing my work was helping breast cancer patients bathe in a product designed for protection, versus an ineffective trash bag, as I did,” added Crites.
But inventing this product and shipping it all over the world is not the end of Lisa’s story. She sold her company in late 2025, the same week she was approached by a publishing house from Los Angeles to author an inspirational book on her journey as a breast cancer survivor and patented inventor, and where her “Beautifully Unbroken” chapter began. With the hope of inspiring patients, innovators and those who have gone through unexpected loss and trauma, her book is scheduled for publication in May 2026.
“From the beginning, I felt if The SHOWER SHIRT™ could help just one patient, then I would deem it a success. That same theory is being applied to “Beautifully Unbroken.” If I can inspire just one person, encourage just one breast cancer patient to have hope, if I can help just one woman who has lost her mother tragically as I did, then I will also deem this book a success,” she added.
Lisa has built a career defined by clarity, purpose, and an uncommon ability to turn lived experience into practical solutions. She brought the discipline of medical journalism into the world of medical innovation. Her work has reflected a professional life shaped by storytelling, problem-solving and a deep understanding of how thoughtful creation can restore dignity during vulnerable moments.
With her Murry State experience as a foundation, she went from the newsroom to the patent office, and from legislative chambers to international innovation forums, with a path guided by a journalist’s eye for detail and a clear understanding of human need. Through The SHOWER SHIRT™ and her continued advocacy, Crites has shown that innovation does not always begin in laboratories or boardrooms. Sometimes, it begins with that basic journalism discipline of listening and observing, to ultimately deciding that a better story (or solution) must exist.
As a lifelong learner, Crites completed an MBA and Master of Science in digital marketing and e-commerce from the European Business School in Barcelona, Spain, only a few years ago. She recently received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Media Communications from Kennedy University for her more than 30 years of work as a broadcast journalist, print journalist and media strategist.
Crites travels for speaking engagements to discuss her ongoing initiatives to support breast cancer survivors. She also guest lectures at colleges and universities on ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ and has been the focus of multiple academic theses on the topic. A portion of sales from each book will be donated to breast cancer support groups and non-profit foundation organizations.
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