Daughter of notorious conspiracy theorist died of cancer after 'falling for mother's theories', her brothers say

23 June 2025, 21:17

The sons of conspiracy theorist Kate Shemirani have accused their mother of causing their sister's death through her opposition to traditional cancer treatment.

An inquest will open next month into the death of 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani, who was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer in 2023 and died months later after refusing chemotherapy.

The sons of Kate Shemirani, a former nurse who was struck off in 2021 for sharing anti-vaxx content to millions on social media, have claimed their sister's death was influenced by their mother's views.

Shemirani has a substantial following on social media, where she shares anti-vaccine and anti-medicine content and advocates for the use of 'natural medicine' including 'IV nutrient therapy' and supplements to cure disease. Her videos, some of which attracted millions of views, were recently banned by TikTok.

“My sister has passed away as a direct consequence of my mum’s actions and beliefs,” Paloma's older brother Sebastian Shemirani told the BBC's Panorama, “And I don’t want anyone else to go through the same pain or loss that I have."

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Sebastian and his brother Gabriel are calling for social media companies to take stronger action to combat the spread of medical misinformation on their platforms.

“I wasn’t able to stop my sister from dying. But it would mean the world to me if I could make it that she wasn’t just another in a long line of people that die in this way,” Gabriel said.

Kate Shemirani and her husband Faramarz have stood by their views, claiming that “Paloma died as a result of medical interventions”.

The brothers believe their mother's conspiracist views began in their childhood when they listened to recordings that claimed terror attacks in the US were staged. They say her anti-medicine views were strengthened in 2012 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Her tumour was removed through surgery, but Kate Shemirani credited alternative therapies for her recovery.

On social media, she attributed her recovery from cancer to juices and coffee enemas.

Chantelle, one of Paloma’s closest friends from school, said she the influence of Kate's views on Paloma dated back to their schooldays.

“Paloma spoke about her mum curing herself and she believed sunscreen could cause cancer,” she told the BBC. “I remember she used to get burnt so badly at school.”

After Paloma graduated from the University of Cambridge, she began experiencing chest pains. Doctors found a mass in Paloma’s lung, which was caused by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. During her diagnosis she was told she had an 80 per cent chance of recovery with chemotherapy.

Shemirani allegedly spent two days at Maidstone hospital with her daughter and after leaving texted Paloma’s boyfriend Ander Harris, who claimed she asked him to prevent her from consenting to chemotherapy.

Harris said she became worried about the side-effects of chemotherapy and by the end of her stay as an inpatient she decided against treatment.

Gabriel started a legal case arguing that Paloma should have an assessment of the appropriate medical treatment for her cancer.

The case ended in July last year when Paloma suddenly died from a heart attack caused by the tumour.

She was initially put on life support, but after several days it was switched off.

The inquest next month is due to establish the circumstances surrounding Paloma’s death.