A British woman who died after refusing chemotherapy was ‘adversely influenced’ by her mother, a former nurse who was struck off for her anti-vaccination views, according to the coroner.
In July 2024, 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani died just seven months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
The Lymphoma Research Foundation lists NHL as a type of cancer affecting the lymphatic system, usually found in the lymph nodes.
It’s the seventh most common cancer affecting adults in the United States, and comes in sixth in the United Kingdom, as per Cancer Research UK.
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Blood cancers like NHL are often treated with chemotherapy, using anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. These are usually given in pill form or injected via a vein.
Despite initially agreeing to the treatment, Shemirani declined chemotherapy in favour of juices and coffee enemas advocated for by her mother, Kate Shemirani, whom she moved in with in December 2023.
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Her mother administered five coffee enemas per day, with Coroner Catherine Wood telling Kent and Medway Coroners Court on Thursday (October 2): "The influence that was brought to bear on Paloma ... did contribute more than minimally to her death.”
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She added that the woman had played a 'leading role' in her daughter's decision to reject chemo.
Five days before her death, Shemirani collapsed at her home in East Sussex, England.
She was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where she saw an osteopath, who told the court they’d ‘never seen’ a lymphoid mass like hers in 43 years of practice.
The New York Times reported that the former student died from a heart attack believed to have been caused by an untreated tumor.
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Wood said that if Shemirani had been ‘supported and encouraged to accept her diagnosis and considered chemotherapy with an open mind’, she probably would have ‘followed that course’ instead of seeking out alternative medicines.
She stated that if the Cambridge graduate had diverted from her own beliefs, her mother's, her father's, and those of a family friend, then she could’ve had an 80 percent chance of a complete cure following the completion of chemotherapy treatment.
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“I found Mrs Shemirani's care of her daughter incomprehensible but not unlawful killing,” Wood told the court.
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Speaking about the coroner’s decision not to charge their mother with the unlawful killing of their sister, Shemirani’s brothers, Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani, said the state had ‘failed’.
“I blame my mother entirely for my sister's death", Gabriel told the inquest.
“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.”
He added that the former nurse had been ‘obstructing’ his sibling from receiving treatment, as per BBC News.
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Kate, who was removed from the British Nurses Registry in 2021, is a breast cancer survivor who credited her own recovery to Gerson therapy.
Gerson therapy is not FDA-approved due to the lack of scientific evidence and the risk of serious side effects.
Gabriel claimed that his twin sister was estranged from their mom before she moved in with her. He brought a High Court case to assess his sister’s ability to make medical decisions while living with her.
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In written statements submitted by the deceased 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’, as per Post.
She described her mother as an ‘extremely forceful advocate for natural health’ and that she was ‘delighted’ with her alternative treatments.
Staff at Maidstone Hospital, where Shemirani was initially diagnosed, the Royal Sussex County Hospital, and paramedics all acted appropriately, the inquest found.
Ella Scott