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A prominent alternative belief promoter influenced her daughter to refuse chemotherapy in support of non-traditional approaches, which ultimately led to her death, a coroner has ruled.

Paloma Shemirani, from Uckfield, succumbed in July last year - half a year after she was found to have lymphatic cancer.

Treatment Decision

The 23-year-old had refused chemotherapy in preference of natural beverages and alternative cleansing methods recommended by her mother, Kate Shemirani, a former nurse who was removed from practice for her immunization-opposing views.

Coroner Catherine Wood declared at the judicial proceeding on the proceeding date: "The pressure that was applied on Paloma... did contribute more than minimally to her demise."

Alternative Treatment Regimen

After her diagnosis in winter 2023, Ms Shemirani went to live with her mother and began having daily alternative therapies a day, as reported by her family members.

In July 2024, she collapsed at home and was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where she succumbed five days later.

"Throughout my practice I haven't witnessed a lymphoid mass like hers in over four decades of professional experience," testified an alternative practitioner who saw Ms Shemirani on the morning she was hospitalized.

Official Conclusions

Ms Wood concluded that Ms Shemirani passed away due to the development of a illness which was curable but left untreated.

She noted that conventional therapy would have given Ms Shemirani an eighty percent chance of a successful treatment outcome.

The Cambridge graduate had originally agreed to treatment, the coroner stated, adding that "uncertainty about agreement only emerged after the parent became engaged."

Family Influence

The coroner said Ms Shemirani was being swayed by her own convictions, her mother's, her father's and by those of a trusted individual - all who advocated the unconventional therapy she employed.

"I found Mrs Shemirani's treatment of her daughter difficult to understand but not criminal," Ms Wood remarked.

Ms Shemirani's mother attempted to fault medical staff for her daughter's death and has previously labelled chemotherapy as "mustard gas".

Investigation Conclusions

Staff at the medical facility, where Ms Shemirani was diagnosed, the Royal Sussex County Hospital and emergency responders all performed their duties properly, the investigation concluded.

None of her mother or her father - non-medical doctor Faramarz Shemirani - attended the final hearing of the inquest.

Family Response

Her male relatives, Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani, participated and said the authorities had "not fulfilled its duty" by not designating their sister's death as an criminal act, despite recognising a violation in their mother's parental responsibility.

Gabriel stated to the investigation: "I hold responsible my mother entirely for my sister's death", adding she had been "preventing" his sister from accessing proper healthcare.

The investigator noted the "notable" family issues, which she said had been "clearly visible" during the investigation.

"The interactions within the immediate family were complicated and unhealthy at the time of Paloma's death," she concluded.