Mum's Against Cancer Treatment Views Affected Daughter's Tragic End

A high-profile alternative belief promoter influenced her daughter to refuse chemotherapy in support of non-traditional approaches, which ultimately led to her passing, a medical examiner has ruled.

Paloma Shemirani, from southern England, passed away in July last year - seven months after she was diagnosed lymphatic cancer.

Treatment Decision

The 23-year-old had refused chemotherapy in favor of liquid diets and coffee enemas recommended by her mother, Kate Shemirani, a previous medical worker who was deregistered for her anti-vaccination beliefs.

Investigating official Catherine Wood remarked at the judicial proceeding on the proceeding date: "The influence that was applied on Paloma... was a factor substantially to her demise."

Non-Medical Therapy

After her medical discovery in late 2023, Ms Shemirani went to live with her mother and began having daily alternative therapies a day, according to her family members.

In mid-2024, she became incapacitated at home and was taken to the healthcare center in Brighton, where she succumbed several days later.

"Throughout my practice I haven't witnessed a cancerous growth like hers in over four decades of professional experience," reported an osteopath who saw Ms Shemirani on the morning she became ill.

Investigation Results

Ms Wood concluded that Ms Shemirani succumbed to the development of a disease which was manageable but not treated.

She added that medical intervention would have given Ms Shemirani an eighty percent chance of a full recovery.

The Cambridge graduate had at first accepted to treatment, the official noted, adding that "questions regarding approval only emerged after Mrs Shemirani became involved."

Parental Impact

The investigator said Ms Shemirani was being swayed by her own convictions, her mother's, her father's and by those of a trusted individual - all who supported the non-medical approach she used.

"I found Mrs Shemirani's treatment of her daughter difficult to understand but not illegal," Ms Wood stated.

Ms Shemirani's mother tried to blame healthcare professionals for her daughter's death and has formerly called chemotherapy as "mustard gas".

Investigation Conclusions

Staff at the healthcare center, where Ms Shemirani was found to have cancer, the Royal Sussex County Hospital and ambulance staff all responded correctly, the inquest found.

None of her immediate family - unconventional therapist Faramarz Shemirani - participated in the final hearing of the investigation.

Family Response

Her siblings, Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani, did attend and said the authorities had "failed" by not classing their sister's death as an criminal act, despite recognising a violation in their mother's parental responsibility.

Gabriel told the proceeding: "I blame my mother completely for my sister's death", adding she had been "obstructing" his sister from accessing proper healthcare.

The official noted the "remarkable" domestic problems, which she said had been "on display very publicly" during the investigation.

"The interactions within the close relatives were complex and unhealthy at the time of Paloma's death," she remarked.