A high-profile alternative belief promoter influenced her daughter to reject chemotherapy in favor of alternative treatments, which eventually led to her demise, a medical examiner has concluded.
Paloma Shemirani, from Uckfield, passed away in summer last year - several months after she was identified lymphatic cancer.
Treatment Decision
The young woman had refused chemotherapy in favor of juices and coffee-based treatments promoted by her mother, Kate Shemirani, a former nurse who was removed from practice for her immunization-opposing views.
Medical examiner Catherine Wood remarked at Kent and Medway Coroners Court on Thursday: "The pressure that was exerted on Paloma... did contribute substantially to her death."
Alternative Treatment Regimen
After her health identification in December 2023, Ms Shemirani relocated with her mother and began having five coffee enemas a day, based on statements from her siblings.
In July 2024, she collapsed at home and was transported to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where she passed away five days later.
"In my career I haven't encountered a tumor like hers in over four decades of professional experience," reported an alternative practitioner who saw Ms Shemirani on the morning she collapsed.
Medical Findings
Ms Wood concluded that Ms Shemirani succumbed to the development of a medical condition which was treatable but not treated.
She noted that medical intervention would have given Ms Shemirani an eighty percent chance of a complete cure.
The university educated woman had originally agreed to treatment, the official stated, adding that "doubts about consent only appeared after her mother became involved."
Relative Pressure
The investigator said Ms Shemirani was being swayed by her own beliefs, her mother's, her father's and by those of a trusted individual - all who advocated the unconventional therapy she employed.
"I found Mrs Shemirani's treatment of her daughter difficult to understand but not unlawful killing," Ms Wood declared.
Ms Shemirani's mother attempted to fault hospital workers for her daughter's death and has previously labelled chemotherapy as "mustard gas".
Investigation Conclusions
Healthcare workers at Maidstone Hospital, where Ms Shemirani was identified, the medical institution and emergency responders all responded correctly, the inquest determined.
Not one of her mother or her father - non-medical doctor Faramarz Shemirani - were present at the official ending of the legal proceeding.
Sibling Statements
Her brothers, Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani, were present and said the state had "not fulfilled its duty" by not classing their sister's death as an criminal act, despite acknowledging a failure in their mother's duty of care.
Gabriel informed the inquest: "I blame my mother completely for my sister's death", adding she had been "preventing" his sister from accessing proper healthcare.
The investigator noted the "notable" domestic problems, which she said had been "on display very publicly" during the investigation.
"The dynamics within the household members were difficult and dysfunctional at the time of Paloma's death," she concluded.
