Anti-vaxxer who ‘encouraged daughter to refuse chemo' defies belief – but toxic views are still spreading far and wide
WHAT kind of parent potentially sacrifices their child's health on the altar of their own, ill-informed beliefs?
Step forward notorious conspiracy theorist Kate Shemirani, who stands accused by her two estranged sons of causing their sister's death by encouraging her to refuse chemotherapy.
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Paloma Shemirani was diagnosed with 'treatable' non-Hodgkin lymphoma two years ago.
But, despite being told she had an 80 per cent chance of recovery via chemo, she refused it and died just months later at the age of 23.
Kate and husband Faramarz claim she 'died as a result of medical interventions' but now Paloma's brothers Sebastian and Gabriel have told BBC 's Panorama a different story.
'My sister has passed away as a direct consequence of my mum's actions and beliefs,' says Sebastian.
Gabriel, who started legal action to try to ensure that Paloma got the right treatment while she was still alive, adds: 'I wasn't able to stop my sister from dying.
"But it would mean the world to me if I could make it that she wasn't just another in a long line of people that die in this way.'
To that end, the brothers are lobbying for social media companies to take stronger action against those who peddle medical misinformation.
TikTok recently banned Kate Shemirani's profile. But she still has a sizeable social media following for her conspiracy theory views that her sons say started when her and her husband listened to recordings claiming that the US terror attack on 9/11 was staged.
Then, in 2012 when Kate was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had the tumour removed through conventional surgery but credited alternative therapies for her recovery.
Paloma's school friend Chantelle says: 'Paloma spoke about her mum curing herself and she believed sunscreen could cause cancer.'
Son of anti-vax nurse being probed by cops for comparing NHS medics to Nazis slams 'arrogant' mum
So when doctors found a mass in Paloma's lung, it perhaps explains why her mother's influence was so great that the young woman decided against conventional treatment.
Indeed, Paloma's boyfriend Anders Harris alleges that, after visiting her daughter in hospital, Kate texted him to ask that he help prevent her from consenting to chemo.
Kate, a former 'nurse' in a Botox clinic (injects neurotoxin but says no to vaccines? — go figure) was struck off in 2021 for sharing anti-vaccine and anti- lockdown content online.
We're all adults and can agree with or ignore such content. But when a parent influences their child against the conventional medicine that could save their life, it defies belief.
In the UK, if parents refuse medical treatment for a sick child (either through religious or other beliefs) and that decision puts them at risk, the law can intervene to act in the best interests of the minor and ensure the necessary treatment takes place.
But Paloma was an adult clearly influenced by a mother who put her own beliefs before her daughter's best interests.
And sadly, the law is a lot murkier and slower in clamping down on people like Kate Shemirani who, God forbid, charges cancer patients £195 for a consultation.
WOMEN ON SIDE OF J.K.
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SIR Stephen Fry has turned on 'friend of mine' JK Rowling, suggesting she's been 'radicalised' over trans issues and has 'very strong, difficult views' that, to him, make her 'a lost cause'.
He was publicly backed by barrister Jolyon Maugham, who posted: 'Really creditable this . . . I've spoken to so many of JKR's once friends who now despair at her privately but won't do so publicly . . . '
The Harry Potter author responded to him with: 'It is a great mistake to assume that everyone who claims to have been a friend of mine was ever considered a friend by me.'
Touché. As for her being a 'lost cause', this is not an opinion shared by the majority of women who believe she is simply standing up for the rights of biological females, including, as she puts it, 'being able to speak about our own bodies as we please'.
And I'm afraid that Stephen and Jolyon's declarations come across as just another couple of entitled men telling women what they should be thinking and feeling.
FAILING ON A.I.
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TECHNOLOGY Secretary Peter Kyle was called a 'bit of a moron' by Sir Elton John on national television but says it's not the first time he's been described as such.
Mr Kyle, who has acute dyslexia, says: 'The first person I ever recall calling me that word 'moron' was a teacher and that was in front of school friends.
'So I wouldn't say it hurt, but it was very humiliating.'
Hmmm. Conflating a school bullying experience with Elton's comment seems disingenuous.
It had nothing to do with his dyslexia and everything to do with the Government's failure to protect young creatives from having their content used for free by AI tech companies.
SUCH A HARDY TARDI
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AT first sight, I thought it was the latest Pixar creation for another Monsters Inc sequel.
But no, turns out this, er, cute little creature is real and can be found in damp environments such as moss, lichen and wet leaves.
It's called a tardigrade and, according to science author Alex Riley in his new book Super Natural: How Life Thrives in Impossible Places, it can endure the most brutal of conditions that would kill a human in seconds.
Hot planet, cold planet, war, flood, famine, you name it – the 'water bear', or 'moss piglet' as it's known, can sustain the lot.
Apparently, it can even withstand one of Rachel Reeves' unedited Budget announcements.
LITTLE THREAT AT 90
TWO serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former one are to face a gross misconduct hearing after a 90-year-old woman with dementia was 'red-dotted' with a taser which thankfully wasn't discharged.
But she was handcuffed and put in a spit hood after refusing to drop the 'kitchen utensils' she was brandishing at a carer in her South London home.
A complaint has now been lodged by her family over use of force and alleged discrimination due to her age, race, sex and disability.
The incident follows that of two officers who, despite a jury finding them unanimously not guilty, still face gross-misconduct proceedings over the use of a pepper spray and taser on a 92-year old amputee who had threatened staff with a butter knife at a care home in East Sussex.
It later transpired that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection.
Look, the police do a tough job that many of us wouldn't dare sign up for.
But common sense must surely dictate that an obviously distressed and delirious nonagenarian is going to present little to no threat to anyone?
EVERY country has its 'pests' that patrol urban streets looking for scraps.
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For the UK, it's mostly foxes and seagulls. In Australia, it's white ibis, otherwise known as 'bin chickens'. It's monkeys in Thailand and brown bears in Canada.
And I'll never forget being in the Galapagos Islands and seeing large sea lions undulating their way along the street looking for food.
Now there's been an exceptionally rare sighting of a pod of killer whales just five miles south of Plymouth.
How long is it before we see Free Willy foraging in Asda's bins?
RIFT-HEALING LIZ HAS THE EX FACTOR
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I HAVE met Elizabeth Hurley several times and we once spent a weekend away together with mutual friends.
During that trip, she taught me how to stand in photos, that the Mach 3 razor is a must for tackling armpit hair and spent some of her downtime looking for a new tractor for her farm.
In other words, she's as uncomplicated and straightforward as they come.
Which is perhaps why, after years of the Cyrus family not speaking following the demise of his 30-year marriage to her mum Trish, Miley and her father Billy Ray have seemingly reconciled after he started dating Elizabeth.
Indeed, the four of them (the other attendee being Elizabeth's son Damian) went for a cosy dinner in London at the weekend. 'At first it's hard, because the little kid in you reacts before the adult in you can go, 'Yes, that's your dad, but that's just another person that deserves to be in his bliss and to be happy,' says 32- year-old Miley.
Good for her. And well done Elizabeth, whose enduring friendships with her exes is also a testament to her admirable people skills.
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