Mum ‘sacrificed' daughter for anti-vax principles, says twin of woman, 23, who died after refusing chemo for cancer

The Sun

3 days ago

THE twin of Paloma Shemirani, who passed away after refusing chemotherapy for cancer claims his conspiracy theorist mum "sacrificed" his sister "for her own principles".
The 23-year-old University of Cambridge graduate died at Royal Sussex County Hospital on July 24 last year of a fatal heart attack.
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Just months earlier, she had declined treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma - a type of blood cancer which starts in the lymph nodes.
At the time, doctors told Paloma, who was originally from Uckfield in East Sussex, she her cancer was "treatable" and that she had an 80 per cent chance of recovery with chemotherapy. Yet, she refused it.
Her mum, Kay "Kate" Shemirani, who rose to prominence on social media while sharing Covid-19 conspiracy theories, is alleged to have been "abusive" to her children and was involved in her daughter's alternative "treatment programme".
Paloma's twin brother, Gabriel Shemirani, told an inquest into her death at Kent and Medway Coroners Court, in Maidstone: "I blame my mother entirely for my sister's death", by "obstructing" his sister from receiving treatment.
"In short, I believe that she sacrificed Paloma's life for her own principles, I believe that she should be held accountable for Paloma's death," said Gabriel.
Kate was struck off as a nurse in 2021, 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".
Gabriel's parents split in 2014 after a relationship which had involved domestic abuse "both ways", he told the court.
He alleged that he and his siblings "felt unsafe" around their mother and that she had been "emotionally distant" and physically abusive to them as children.
He further alleged during his evidence that his father, Doctor Faramarz Shemirani, was also physically abusive to him and his brother.
At the time of Paloma's cancer diagnosis in autumn 2023, she was estranged from her mother, who then advised her against conventional medicine, the court heard.
Gabriel said: "Paloma had a complicated relationship with our mother, maybe it is because she had a complicated relationship that she decided to rekindle that relationship when she became ill.
"In my opinion, Kay Shemirani directed her resentment that she held towards my other siblings and I towards Paloma."
'Pressure' from parents
Gabriel brought a High Court case to assess his sister's ability to exert her capacity to take medical decisions while living with her mother in April 2024.
He claimed that when Paloma was first diagnosed, she was considering chemotherapy, before their parents started to pressure her against it.
Her father sent a message to his daughter saying: "Don't consent to anything from the doctors they try and kill you".
And that Kate had said: "I'm the only one that can help you, don't bite the hand that feeds", the inquest heard.
"There was no disagreement from her that this was cancer, she never expressed that to me and she never expressed it to doctors either," said Gabriel.
His parents asked questions as interested persons which alleged that Gabriel was influenced and funded by others to bring the High Court case and that his actions were a factor in Paloma's death during his evidence.
"My sister didn't die from stress from the court case, my sister died from cancer and I think that's clear," said Gabriel.
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Before the High Court case, Gabriel also referred the situation to social services but he felt they were "slow moving", the court heard.
He added that his younger sister had been taken away from their mother when she was 16 and that the case was "only driven by my love and concern for my twin sister".
The father claimed his son was an "irrational" and "unreliable witness", and that his actions had been a "major contributing" factor to her death.
"This is not a public forum to air grievances," Coroner Catherine Wood said.
"I don't have any aggrievances, I don't have any aggrievances," Dr Shemirani said.
"Sounds like it," Gabriel responded.
When his questions concluded, Faramarz said: "Finally may our lord almighty exercise you from the demons that possess you amen."
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Previously, Dr Ali Ajaz, a forensic psychiatrist, provided an assessment of Paloma during High Court proceedings which read: "I have no concerns that Ms Shemirani (Paloma) has been coerced or unduly influenced by any individual when making a decision about her own medical treatment."
Gabriel asserted that Dr Ajaz's sessions with his sister were "coloured by my mother's control", which the doctor said was speculation.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gabriel told the court that his sister was terrified of cancer, but used gallows humour as a defence mechanism.
"Are you a psychologist, Gabriel?" his mother asked him.
"Are you a nurse?" he replied.
Alternative treatments
Meanwhile, an osteopath who saw Paloma shortly before her death has told her inquest he had "never seen anything like it.
He said that when he inspected her he could feel lumps in her right shoulder going all the way up into her neck.
Days before, she visited Nick Gosset on the instructions of her mother Kate.
Nick told the hearing that he felt "deeply aggrieved" to have been put in a professional position of trying to treat Paloma by Kate when there was clear advice from her GP to go to A&E.
He said that Paloma had come to him complaining about shortness of breath and that he could only offer her palliative treatment at that stage as she was " in the last stages of a very difficult disease".
"It was obvious to me that I was not the right person to be helping her, normally you see a patient like that you would refer her (to a GP)," he said.
"I was left with no good choices and the only choice I felt I had at the time was to offer her the opportunity to return where I might be able to persuade her of the importance of seeking further medical support," he added.
Nick said that any referral to a GP was "refused" and all suggestions of going through "normal medical channels" were "dismissed".
Kate told the court that she did not believe the osteopath had that conversation with her daughter, as they were "very close" and Paloma did not tell her after the session.
Nick then explained he would have offered to treat her again in the vain hope of possibly persuading her to seek help elsewhere, adding he had been "horrified" to learn she had subsequently died.
At the same inquest on a previous day, Paloma's brother revealed she had been having coffee enemas as part of her devised Gerson therapy treatment plan.
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Gerson therapy involves a strict organic vegetarian diet and enemas and has been used in cancer treatment - but Cancer Research UK says that there is no scientific evidence supporting it.
A coffee enema is a type of colon cleanse in alternative medicine.
It involves injecting a mixture of brewed, caffeinated coffee and water into the colon through the rectum.
Some coffee enema supporters claim the procedure can offer a number of health benefits, including treating cancer.
But scientific evidence for its effectiveness is limited.
Also at the inquest was Linda Scotson who said she was qualified in hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the BBC said.
HBOT is a treatment where people breathe pure oxygen in a high-pressure chamber.
Some people claim it can fight cancer, but there's no strong scientific evidence that it can treat or cure the disease.
While oxygen can support healthy tissue, it doesn't specifically target or kill cancer cells.
Major cancer organisations like Cancer Research do not recommend HBOT as a standalone cancer treatment.
She said Paloma had not been sure she had cancer and was aiming to "improve her immediate quality of life", after which she had claimed to feel "better in herself".
Asked by Kate Shemirani if she had seen others in Paloma's situation coming to her centre, Linda replied: "We have people with a whole variety of problems, such as ME, Long Covid, sprains and fractures.
"It's amazing what a little extra oxygen can do for the body. You are lifting stress."
Paloma's twin brother Gabriel also asked her: "Did you explicitly tell her this will not treat her cancer?"
Linda said: "She knew it wasn't treating her cancer in a direct way. I was treating her whole body and her wellbeing."
When asked by Gabriel if she had left it "deliberately vague", she replied: "I never said I was treating her cancer and she wasn't certain that she had cancer."
The inquest continues.
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