Brothers speak out over sister’s cancer death in Sussex

Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani have spoken out following the death of their sister, Paloma Shemirani, a 23-year-old Cambridge graduate, who died in July last year after declining chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Paloma made the decision under the influence of their mother, Kate "Kay" Shemirani, a prominent conspiracy theorist and former nurse.

Paloma Shemirani. (Image: PA Wire)

Gabriel Shemirani said: "We're just living in this complete wild west of health misinformation, there are no protections whatsoever for people like my sister."

Instead of conventional treatment, Paloma followed an "alternative" regime led by her mother, which included a strict diet, juices and daily coffee enemas.

An inquest earlier this month concluded that Paloma had an 80 per cent chance of recovery with chemotherapy and that she "could and should" have survived.

Gabriel said he was "confused" by the coroner’s findings, which stated that their mother did not meet her duty of care but stopped short of ruling the death as "unlawful killing."

He said: "It got me 80 per cent of the way there, but then nothing actually physically changed."

Sebastian Shemirani also criticised the broader system, arguing that authorities are not equipped to handle the dangers posed by conspiracy-driven coercion.

He said: "I think this existing framework that the authorities and safeguarding mechanisms have for understanding abuse doesn’t understand how coercion happens in the mind of the victim.

"It’s not the case that you wake up one day with free will and then you’re bullied into accepting something that you wouldn’t otherwise do, such as rejecting traditional cancer treatment.

Gabriel Shemirani speaking to the media outside Oakwood House in Maidstone, Kent, at the inquest into the death of 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani, who died at Royal Sussex County Hospital on July 24 2024, after refusing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

"Rather, when you’re a victim of abuse, you learn to blame yourself for the abuse you’re suffering."

Gabriel has since provided emails to the coroner and Sussex Police showing that Ms Shemirani had offered similar "treatment" programmes to other cancer patients as far back as 2017, though these were not admitted as evidence during the inquest.

He is now considering a judicial review of the inquest to push for an "unlawful killing" finding or pursuing a future civil case.