A 23-year-old woman who died after refusing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma was “adversely influenced” by her conspiracy theorist mother, a coroner has ruled. Paloma Shemirani died in July 2024 despite doctors giving her an 80% chance of recovery with treatment.
Coroner Catherine Wood told a hearing at Kent and Medway coroner’s court that the influence of Paloma’s mother, Kay Shemirani, also known as influencer Kate Shemirani, “more than minimally” contributed to her death. “If approached with an open mind, Paloma would have chosen the chance to survive, and if she had undergone chemotherapy she probably would have survived,” Wood said.
Kay Shemirani was struck off as a nurse in 2021 for spreading Covid-19 misinformation. A consultant haematologist at Maidstone Hospital, Arunodaya Mohan, told the inquest that Paloma initially agreed to treatment but later declined after speaking with her mother. Paloma had said the decision was her own, but Mohan noted a change after discharge.
Paloma’s twin brother, Gabriel, told the inquest he blamed his mother entirely for his sister’s death, saying she had “sacrificed Paloma’s life for her own principles”. The inquest heard that Paloma had written to the High Court that she was “delighted” with alternative treatments and “sure” she would recover.
