By Lisa Gentes

Darlene Sheehan was diagnosed with cancer six years ago. Four and a half years ago, she stopped chemotherapy. And today, she's alive and well. She ran five miles just the other day.

The registered nurse from Dorchester is not only a cancer survivor. She is living with cancer as a chronic disease and winning the battle. After enduring the brutal chemo treatments, a year later, her cancer returned. She decided that Western medicine was not right for her. She did some research and began to learn about holistic medicine, healthy lifestyles and nutrition.

"I found other ways I could empower myself, to get healthy and stay healthy," Sheehan said. "I believe I'm still alive today because I empowered myself."

She left her job as registered nurse in traditional medicine and began her journey to holistic healing. She founded the eight-step N.E.W.S.T.A.R.T Program, (Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust,) which teaches people how to take responsibility for their bodies and take care of themselves.

"The body is a great healing machine," she said.

Holistic healing, also referred to as alternative medicine, focuses on treating the whole self: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. With Eastern roots, it combines ancient practices and healing.

"People know more about taking care of a car than taking care of their bodies," Sheehan, who is also a certified addictions specialist, noted.

Sheehan's program, which functions out of a Quincy office, teaches those suffering from various chronic diseases, such as asthma, cancer, arthritis, or diabetes, how to change their eating habits and modify behavior in order to live a healthy life

She has treated firefighters with pancreatic cancer. She has worked with elderly patients suffering from diabetes. And she even works with "healthy" folks who simply want a healthier lifestyle option.

Her emphysema patients who started out using four or five breathing inhalers each day can now walk three miles without getting winded. Some of her diabetes patients, with a simple change in diet, have seen their sugar levels balance out.

Sheehan, 47, who was born and raised in the St. Brendan's area of Dorchester, and was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, has used her own illness as a tool to change her life and impact the lives of others.

"Cancer has opened up so many doors," the registered nurse, who still has cancer, said. "My life is better today than it was before. I'm beating the odds."

Doctors don't really have any answers on what causes chronic illness, she said. They treat the symptoms, but there are devastating effects that patients suffer from the medications, Sheehan noted.

The holistic healer said there are many things individuals can do to learn about their bodies and alleviate stress. Diet and exercise are two of those. Trying acupuncture to help with pain and illness and avoiding processed foods and foods treated with pesticides can also help.

Sheehan, who graduated from Laboure School of Nursing and became a certified addiction specialist at UMASS-Boston, works with Dorchester and South Boston residents, alternative health care centers, local unions, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. She puts on six week public seminars, practices holistic counseling and "gives them the tools they need. People don't have to be as sick as they are…Our body is an incredible healing machine," she stated.

With the increase in chronic illnesses in the U.S. over the last few decades, Sheehan noted the need to rid the body of harmful substances.

"We live such an unhealthy, stressed lifestyle," she noted. "We're eating foods that don't give us the nutrients we need. People really need to look at the food they're eating."

The nurse recommends eating only organic made foods, those free of preservatives and chemicals. Steering towards the whole grains and avoiding white pastas and flour, processed food and sugar will only help the body maintain a balanced state. She said eating the right type of carbohydrates and the "good" fats will keep one's diet in check.

Sheehan said most of the people who go through her seminars are amazed at the simple, common sense information she provides, and wonder why their doctors never informed them of the basic healthy living changes.

Often, she said, "When people get sick they think there's nothing we can do about it. But it's not true. You can control what you put in your mouth."

The cancer survivor typically drinks two quarts of water a day, meditates in the morning and evening, eats totally organic food and takes supplements. She does acupuncture and Eastern medicine. She said her program has boosted her immune system and helped to keep her cancer in check, although sticking to the strict lifestyle is often times hard.

"Do I cheat? I do. But I do the best that I can," she said.

The nurse noted that when she opted to leave her traditional chemotherapy treatments, her oncologists were a bit leery at first. "If I just listened to the doctors, I would have given up. I would have died."

She said now, after keeping her cancer in check on her own through this holistic alternative, her doctors are supportive. "They feel like I'm a miracle and I'm alive today. I empowered myself to get this information."

Sheehan stressed that her holistic practices are not "a miracle cure. It's basic. But nature knew what she was doing when she made our bodies."

On September 8, a six-week N.U.S.T.A.R.T. Health and Lifestyle Series begins in Quincy. For more information, contact Darlene Sheehan at 617.287.9192.