Mom played ‘leading role’ in influencing daughter to refuse chemo: coroner

A young cancer patient who died after refusing chemotherapy in favor of five coffee enemas a day was “adversely influenced” by her conspiracy theorist mother, a UK coroner said Thursday.

Paloma Shemirani, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2023, eschewed conventional treatment for the “alternative” healing path overseen by her mother, Kate Shemirani, a controversial health influencer.

“It seems that if Paloma had been supported and encouraged to accept her diagnosis and considered chemotherapy with an open mind she probably would have followed that course,” coroner Catherine Wood said at Thursday’s inquest hearing, according to news reports.

Paloma died at 23 in 2024 from a heart attack believed to have been caused by an untreated tumor.

Upon her diagnosis, she was told by doctors that her cancer was “treatable” and that with chemotherapy, she had an 80% chance of recovery.

However, her mother, a former nurse and known anti-vaccine advocate, pushed her to pursue alternative medicine.

Kate, who was removed from the British Nurses Registry in 2021 after a committee found she had spread theories that “put the public at a significant risk of harm,” had taken a “leading role” in her daughter’s treatment.

Kate, a breast cancer survivor, credited her own recovery to Gerson therapy. This alternative approach aims to “detoxify” the body through a strict vegan diet, natural juices, supplements and frequent coffee enemas. Citing her own success, she recommended the therapy for Paloma.

The FDA has not approved Gerson therapy for the treatment of cancer or any other condition. Major cancer organizations warn against its use, citing a lack of scientific evidence and the risk of serious side effects.

Wood described Kate’s conduct of care towards her daughter as “incomprehensible but not unlawful.”

“The influence that was brought to bear on Paloma… did contribute more than minimally to her death,” Wood said.

Wood noted that Kate’s extensive questioning of medical staff and suspicion of Western medicine en masse likely “seeded some form of doubt in Paloma’s mind as to her diagnosis.”

Indeed, in written statements before her death, Paloma denied having cancer at all, calling the diagnosis an “absurd fantasy, with no proof,” per the BBC. She also expressed fears that chemotherapy might leave her infertile.

“I do not want to undergo such a harsh treatment that could even kill me when there is a possibility this is not cancer,” she wrote.

Kate and her ex-husband, Dr. Faramarz Shemirani, previously told the BBC they believe Paloma “died as a result of medical interventions given without confirmed diagnosis or lawful consent.” 

Paloma’s twin brother, Gabriel, has been vocal about what he perceives as his mother’s role in his sister’s demise. During the coroner’s hearing, he laid the blame wholly and specifically on Kate.

“I blame my mother entirely for my sister’s death,” he said while characterizing her influence as “obstructing” his sister from receiving proper care.

“In short, I believe that she sacrificed Paloma’s life for her own principles,” he added. “I believe that she should be held accountable for Paloma’s death.”

In his testimony, he claimed that he and his siblings had “felt unsafe” around their mother and that Paloma was estranged from her at the time of her diagnosis.

In 2024, Gabriel brought a High Court case to assess his sister’s ability to make medical decisions while living with their mother.

He claimed that while Paloma initially considered chemotherapy after her diagnosis, she was pressured by her parents to avoid it.

However, in written statements submitted by Paloma to the family division of the High Court in 2024, she claimed to have refused chemotherapy in part because of her “background in natural healing.”

In those proceedings, Paloma described her mother as “an extremely forceful advocate for natural health” who is “misquoted” by people claiming “those natural solutions are conspiratorial.”

She also claimed she was “delighted” with her alternative treatments.

Doctors believe Paloma’s heart attack could have been triggered by a large mass compressing her airways.

During the coroner’s hearing, Kate argued, “Paloma made her own treatment choices based on her values, research and experiences. She was determined to get well on her own terms.”