‘Suspicious' antivax mum accuses paramedics of ‘killing' model daughter after she refused ‘lifesaving' cancer treatment
Paloma Shemirani, a 23-year-old University of Cambridge graduate, collapsed on July 19 last year and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital.
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Paloma Shemirani died from a heart attack after being diagnosed with cancer
Credit: Facebook
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Paloma's mum, Kate, is a notorious anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist
Credit: Alamy
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The 23-year-old turned down treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Credit: Facebook
She died just five days later, on July 24 of a heart attack.
Just months earlier, Paoloma, who was a finalist in Miss Universe Great Britain 2021
,
had declined treatment for
- a type of
blood cancer
which starts in the lymph nodes.
Her mother, Kate who rose to prominence on social media while sharing
Kate, who was involved in Paloma's "alternative treatment" called her friend before calling an ambulance the day her daughter collapsed, the inquest at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court in Maidstone, heard.
Read more on Paloma
On Wednesday, reading a prepared witness statement, she accused the inquest of "attempting to shift focus" from the "real" cause of Paloma's death.
"Any attempt to place responsibility on me is false - the people who need to be answering are those who failed to confirm diagnosis, administered drugs without her consent which could have damaged her heart," said Kate.
Kate told the court that a "sequence of medical actions" caused her daughter's death, which she claimed amounted to "gross negligence manslaughter".
She claims that while in hospital in December 2023, Paloma was given medication without her consent and felt "pressured and bullied" by medical staff.
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"I became very suspicious and deeply concerned about what was happening," Kate told the coroner.
Paloma's twin brother, Gabriel Shemirani, suggests that when Paloma was first diagnosed, she was considering chemotherapy, before their parents started to pressure her against it.
Son of anti-vax nurse being probed by cops for comparing NHS medics to Nazis slams 'arrogant' mum
Kate was struck off as a nurse in 2021, having qualified in the 1980s and a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) committee found she had spread Covid-19 misinformation that "put the public at a significant risk of harm".
After her stay in hospital in December 2023, Paloma began an alternative treatment programme which included daily coffee enemas, a strict diet and green juices, the inquest heard previously.
"Paloma made her own treatment choices based on her values, research and experiences," said Kate.
She added that her daughter was "never a victim of coercion" and that she "continued to improve physically" under her alternative medicines.
"She was determined to get well on her own terms and this is well documented in her own high court statement which was read out in this coroner's hearing" said Kate.
On the day she collapsed, she had an appointment with an osteopath, Nick Gosset, who described her on Wednesday as "a young lady who was in the last stages of a very difficult disease" and said he advised she seek medical help.
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Paloma's twin brother, Gabriel Shemirani, previously blamed Kate for her death
Credit: PA
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Paloma was considered chemo before her parents got involved, Gabriel claims
Credit: Facebook
'She's dying'
Today, her mother disagreed saying: "On the morning of July 19 Paloma was well.
"She looks healthy and good colour ... she was smiling and laughing, she was not as described yesterday by the osteopath."
Paloma collapsed at home later that day, and her mother called her friend who then called an ambulance while they initiated CPR.
On the 999 call played to the court, Kate was heard shouting "she's dying" to the operator before the paramedics arrived.
She also told the ambulance operator "it's difficult to lie her on her front because she has a medicinal mass" in her throat, the inquest heard.
In her evidence, Kate told the court that when the paramedics arrived they administered adrenaline "then everything went horribly wrong" following their intervention and her daughter went into "full circulatory collapse".
"I knew at this point that they'd done something, given something that had caused this," she said.
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Paloma began an alternative treatment programme which included daily coffee enemas, a strict diet and green juices
Credit: Facebook
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Kate told the court that a 'sequence of medical actions' caused her daughter's death
Credit: Facebook
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Kate has has accused paramedics of killing the Cambridge grad
Kate added: "She deteriorated catastrophically upon their arrival and their intervention."
Dr Anderson said Paloma received a standard adult dose of adrenaline during the cardiac arrest, and that this was acceptable even given how thin she was at the time.
Paloma was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on a ventilator, and brain stem death was declared on the afternoon of July 24, 2024 after a series of nationally advised medical checks.
'Trying to conceal cause of death'
Kate said the decision taken was rushed and said that the brain stem testing was not the same in the UK as it was in the US, and wanted an MRI.
Intensivist and anaesthetist Dr Peter Anderson, who was on shift when Paloma died, explained: "I thought the risk of deterioration and uncontrolled death was extremely high."
Dr Anderson noted that on the 999 call, Kate called out Paloma's oxygen saturation which was "critically low" at 36 then 35.
He told the coroner that if Paloma's 'sats' were that low for a significant time then the brain damage was done before the paramedics arrived.
Kate said: "We are deeply concerned this inquest is attempting to shift focus on the cause of death."
Later she added: "We believe this to be an attempt to pervert the course of justice and conceal the cause of Paloma's death."
The inquest continues.
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Paloma received a standard adult dose of adrenaline during the cardiac arrest from the paramedics, a doctor said
Credit: Facebook
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, as recommended by the NHS
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is usually treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, although some people may not need treatment straight away.
In a few cases, if the initial cancer is very small and can be removed during a biopsy, no further treatment may be needed.
If non-Hodgkin lymphoma is low grade (slow developing) and a person is well, a period of "watch and wait" is often recommended.
This is because some people take many years to develop troublesome symptoms and starting treatment immediately is often felt to be unnecessary.
But in other cases, chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells.
If non-Hodgkin lymphoma doesn't get better with initial treatment (known as refractory lymphoma), you may have a course of chemotherapy at a stronger dose.
But this intensive chemotherapy destroys your bone marrow, and can lead to the following side effects:
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhoea
Loss of appetite
Mouth ulcers
Tiredness
Skin rashes
Hair loss
Infertility, which may be temporary or permanent
A stem cell or bone marrow transplant is then needed to replace the damaged bone marrow.
Radiotherapy is most often used to treat early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the cancer is only in one part of the body.
And for some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you may have a type of medicine called a monoclonal antibody.
These medicines attach themselves to both healthy and cancerous cells, and signal to the immune system to attack and kill the cells.
Other potential non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatments include:
Cancer growth blockers
Steroid medicine
Immunotherapy
Source: NHS
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