16 hours Ago
Paloma, a 23-year-old Cambridge graduate, was diagnosed with cancer and was told by doctors she had a good chance of survival with chemotherapy. But she declined the treatment, and died in 2024, a mere seven months after the diagnosis. Her brothers claim this decision was probably greatly influenced by their mother.
Kate has publicly accused the NHS over Paloma's death. With her ex-husband, Faramarz Shemirani, she said that Paloma died from medical interventions conducted without a verified diagnosis or legal consent. But there is no evidence to back up such a claim.
Family History of Conspiracy Theories
"My sister has died as a direct result of my mum's actions and beliefs," Sebastian said. He and Gabriel are demanding the spread of information and hoping no one else experiences their loss. I couldn't keep my sister alive," Gabriel went on. "But if I could just make it that she wasn't just another statistic, another in a line of people who've died in this way, it would mean the world to me.
The brothers would also like the social media companies to forcefully take down the medical misinformation they point out continues to be promulgated online.
The mother's beliefs are said to have been influenced by conspiracy theories that were promoted within the household when the brothers were growing up in Uckfield, Sussex. Gabriel remembered hearing conspiracy broadcasts on the school runs. Their father first introduced these ideas, the brothers said, and their mother became more involved over time.
Rising Influence and Harm of Misinformation
Kate Shemirani was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. She did have surgery, but she attributed her survival to alternative therapies like juicing and coffee enemas. She stopped short of declaring herself cured, publicly calling herself "cancer-free." Her sons told me this only reinforced her anti-medicine beliefs.
Paloma was swayed by these concepts. Paloma, one of her close friends remembered, thought sunscreen might cause cancer. She also remembered Paloma getting horrific sunburn at school.
After their parents split, Gabriel and Sebastian fell out with their mother, but Paloma maintained contact with Kate and developed a bond with her — even when she went to university at Cambridge in 2019.
An oncologist cautioned that unscientific medical beliefs were becoming more common and dangerous. He was also worried that when public figures espouse these theories, they make it much easier for other people to believe in them, and some may choose harmful quackery over evidence-based treatments.
