Paloma Shemirani died from cancer at the age of 23. Photo: FACEBOOK / SUPPLIED
A UK coroner ruled a British health blogger who promotes conspiracy theories had "adversely influenced" her daughter to refuse chemotherapy, causing her death from cancer.
Kate Shemirani, whose real name is Kay, has tens of thousands of followers on social media.
She claims to have cured herself of breast cancer using alternative medicine.
Her daughter, Paloma, 23, died on July 24, 2024, from non-Hodgkin lymphoma despite being given an 80 percent chance of survival if she agreed to chemotherapy.
Instead she went to live with her mother and underwent an alternative treatment called Gerson therapy, involving vegetable juices and coffee enemas.
According to Cancer Research UK, there is "no scientific evidence" for this as a cancer treatment.
"I found Mrs Shemirani adversely influenced Paloma," the coroner Catherine Wood told a court in Maidstone, Kent, after a long drawn-out inquest.
"I find she was encouraging and influencing Paloma to take the route that she did," the coroner said.
The influence of others on Paloma's decisions "did contribute more than minimally to her death", the coroner added.
Kate's sons, Gabriel, 24, and Sebastian, 26, accuse their mother of influencing their sister to refuse cancer treatment.
After the verdict the brothers said they were disappointed at the decision.
"I wanted the verdict to be gross negligence manslaughter," Gabriel told AFP, adding he was planning to challenge the outcome.
"It looked like the coroner was leaning towards that, it's just she let Kay (Kate) off on a technicality."
An inquest is a court hearing into a death, held by a coroner. It establishes facts but does not assign blame.
Shemirani was struck off as an NHS nurse for giving speeches at anti-vaccine rallies during the Covid lockdown.
Shemirani's approach when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer "caused Paloma to lose trust in the clinicians who were clearly advising her appropriately," Wood said.
It was "incomprehensible" why Shemirani, a former nurse, did not encourage her daughter, a recent graduate from Cambridge University, to seek medical treatment as her condition worsened, Wood said.
'Large tumour'
The hospital consultant said she was concerned when Paloma said she was considering alternative treatments and discharged herself.
But she said Paloma, who also expressed anti-vaxx views, was very clear about not wanting chemotherapy.
The pathologist who examined Paloma's body at the post-mortem, David Wright, said he found a large tumour in her chest and neck "growing in all directions".
The untreated cancer was "the obvious cause of death," he said.
Paloma had said she was "not coerced" into alternative treatment under her mother's supervision.
Her mother blamed medical staff for Paloma's death, accusing them of "gross medical failings," claims the coroner said were groundless.
Shemirani has denied any responsibility for her daughter's death.
- AFP
