A 23-year-old woman in the UK lost her life after battling cancer, all because she refused treatment… and chose an alternative regimen influenced by her own mother instead.
According to the BBC this week, Paloma Shemirani died last July after suffering from a heart attack caused by an untreated tumor. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma seven months before her death and told by her doctors she had a high chance of surviving if she underwent chemotherapy. However, she refused treatment. She opted for an alternative care route promoted by her mother, Kate Shemirani — a nurse turned super controversial health influencer. If you know anything about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you can get a clear picture of what her views are. But to give everyone some background on Kate…
Paloma’s brother Gabriel told the BBC that growing up, Alex Jones — the conspiracy theorist who claims the Sandy Hook shooting was fake and that 911 “was an inside job” — was the “soundtrack” to their household. JFC. We are already off to a bad start. When Kate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, she became increasingly distrustful of medicine, even though she was a nurse. The social media personality underwent surgery to remove the tumor, but only credited Gerson therapy with saving her life.
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Gerson therapy is an alternative treatment that aims to detoxify the body through a strict vegan diet, natural juices, supplements, and frequent coffee enemas. Some people claim it can treat cancer — though there is zero scientific proof. It is not FDA-approved for treating cancer or any other condition. Major cancer organizations, including Cancer Research UK, even warn against its use due to the lack of scientific evidence and potential serious side effects like dehydration, inflammation of the bowel, and heart and lung problems.
All of this is super important later, so keep it in mind…
Per The Mirror, she lost her nursing license after the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council discovered she used her position to spread “distorted propaganda” during the pandemic. Yet that did not stop her from spreading misinformation. She claimed in an interview with Sky News in 2021 that “no vaccine has ever been proven safe and no vaccine has ever been proven effective.” She also said there is “no evidence” that “a pandemic exists.” Oh, and it gets worse. That same year, Kate compared healthcare workers giving COVID-19 vaccines to Nazi war criminals. She also falsely claimed the “downright deadly” shots spread the virus. WTF.
As you can see, no one should take any medical advice from Kate. But her daughter did, opting to try Gerson therapy just like her mom. Per the BBC, Paloma started to experience chest pains and breathing difficulties in late 2023 and went to the hospital. Doctors suspected she had a tumor, but her then-boyfriend Ander Harris said they hoped it was not malignant. Sadly, she got the diagnosis on December 22 that she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. If untreated, this form of cancer is fatal. But with chemotherapy, she had an 80 percent chance of surviving.
When Paloma told her mom the news, Kate said she wanted to come to the hospital. However, her daughter was hesitant about seeing her as they were not on the best of terms at that point. Ander and his own mom also voiced concerns about Kate due to her beliefs and relationship with Paloma. They were concerned she would try to influence Paloma’s course of treatment, and their fears were seemingly right. A text obtained by the BBC that Kate sent to Ander even showed she did not want her daughter to undergo any medical treatment:
“TELL PALOMA NOT TO SIGN [OR] VERBALLY CONSENT TO CHEMO OR ANY TREATMENT.”
Eventually, Paloma reached out to Kate’s former partner and alternative health practitioner, Patrick Vickers, for advice. She told him she had an “80% chance of cure” with chemo, but his response? Per BBC, he said that was “exaggerated” and encouraged her to start with Gerson therapy first. If Paloma did not improve after six weeks, then he suggested she consider chemotherapy. OMG.
Vickers denied any wrongdoing to the BBC, saying that any “assertions that I played a role in her [Paloma’s] death are legally inaccurate.” Regardless, she took his advice and decided to try out Gerson therapy. On December 23, Kate reportedly sent Ander a voice note telling him to drive Paloma to her house because she arranged doctors for her to see. Paloma continued with the therapy for months. And while under the care of Kate, the BBC reported on Tuesday her brother Gabriel told an inquest this week that his mom gave Paloma “five coffee enemas a day.” Her care also included a strict diet and “lots of green juices.”
WHAT?!
Unsurprisingly, the so-called treatment didn’t work. She became increasingly unwell. One friend, Chanetelle, told the BBC that Paloma shared that she had a new lump in her armpit. However, she wasn’t worried about it because Kate told her it meant the cancer was leaving her body. Chantelle “knew she was really struggling” in reality, though. Paloma apparently told her she lost control of her bodily functions.
By March 2024, Paloma broke up with Ander. Friends and family also started to feel that Kate was isolating Paloma. Gabriel told the BBC that he asked to see Paloma after the diagnosis, but his sister informed him she could not go outside due to the “bad air.” According to him, Kate convinced her that the “damp air” would make her more ill.
Gabriel and his brother Sebastian became so concerned for Palmoa that the latter started a legal case to assess the appropriate medical treatment for her. During this time, according to the BBC, she went on to write statements denying she ever had cancer! Whoa! What! She called the diagnosis an “absurd fantasy, with no proof” and feared chemotherapy might leave her infertile, adding:
“I do not want to undergo such a harsh treatment that could even kill me when there is a possibility this is not cancer.”
Paloma was even positive that she would “make a full recovery” through Gerson therapy if allowed to continue. However, the case ended without any sort of conclusion because she died.
Just awful.
Her parents, including dad Faramarz Shemirani, are not blaming their own practices for her death. No, they told the BBC they think Paloma “died as a result of medical interventions given without confirmed diagnosis or lawful consent.” Are they serious? Her two brothers, on the other hand, Gabriel and Sebastian, fully think it is their mother’s fault. Sebastian said:
“My sister has passed away as a direct consequence of my mum’s actions and beliefs and I don’t want anyone else to go through the same pain or loss that I have.”
This is such a tragedy. She was so young. And if only she listened to medical professionals — not her own mom or anyone else — she could’ve been here today. Our hearts break for her brothers.
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[Image via Kate Shemirani/Instagram, Sky News/YouTube]
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