UK Coroner Rules Health Blogger's Influence Led to Daughter's Cancer Death After Refusing Chemotherapy

A British coroner has determined that health blogger Kate Shemirani "adversely influenced" her daughter Paloma to refuse conventional cancer treatment, ultimately contributing to the 23-year-old's death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Kate Shemirani, who has amassed tens of thousands of followers across social media platforms, claims to have cured her own breast cancer using alternative medicine approaches. Her daughter Paloma died on July 24, 2024, despite having been given an 80 percent chance of survival had she accepted recommended chemotherapy.

Instead of pursuing conventional medical treatment, Paloma opted to live with her mother and undergo Gerson therapy, an alternative treatment involving vegetable juices and coffee enemas. According to Cancer Research UK, there is "no scientific evidence" supporting Gerson therapy as an effective cancer treatment.

Coroner Catherine Wood stated at the Maidstone court inquest, "I found Mrs Shemirani adversely influenced Paloma. I find she was encouraging and influencing Paloma to take the route that she did." The coroner further concluded that others' influence on Paloma's treatment decisions "did contribute more than minimally to her death."

Kate's sons, Gabriel, 24, and Sebastian, 26, have accused their mother of influencing their sister to reject established cancer treatments. Following the verdict, the brothers expressed disappointment with the coroner's decision, with Gabriel telling AFP, "I wanted the verdict to be gross negligence manslaughter," adding that he plans to challenge the outcome. "It looked like the coroner was leaning towards that, it's just she let Kay (Kate) off on a technicality."

An inquest is a court proceeding investigating a death, conducted by a coroner to establish facts rather than assign blame.

Shemirani, who was previously struck off as an NHS nurse for giving speeches at anti-vaccine rallies during Covid lockdowns, approached her daughter's cancer diagnosis in a way that "caused Paloma to lose trust in the clinicians who were clearly advising her appropriately," according to Coroner Wood.

The coroner found it "incomprehensible" that Shemirani, a former nurse, did not encourage her daughter—a recent Cambridge University graduate—to seek proper medical treatment as her condition deteriorated.

The hospital consultant expressed concern when Paloma mentioned considering alternative treatments before discharging herself. However, the consultant noted that Paloma, who also expressed anti-vaccination views, was adamant about refusing chemotherapy.

Pathologist David Wright, who performed the post-mortem examination, discovered a large tumor in Paloma's chest and neck that was "growing in all directions." He identified the untreated cancer as "the obvious cause of death."

Although Paloma had stated she was "not coerced" into undergoing alternative treatment under her mother's supervision, her mother has blamed medical staff for her daughter's death, alleging "gross medical failings"—claims the coroner dismissed as groundless.

Kate Shemirani continues to deny any responsibility for her daughter's death.