"My sister died of cancer because of our mother's conspiracy theories"

Brothers Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani have blamed their mother, a conspiracy theorist and internet personality, for the death of their 23-year-old sister, Paloma Shemirani. The brothers said they had contacted the BBC about Paloma's case in the hope that they could prevent more deaths, and believe social media companies should take tougher action against medical misinformation - which, according to BBC investigations, is being actively promoted on some of the major platforms.

Gabriel and Sebastian Shemirani watched with concern as their mother, Kate, rose to fame during the pandemic, spreading misinformation about Covid-19 - which led to her being fired from her job as a nurse.

Then, their sister Paloma was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors told her she had a good chance of survival if she agreed to undergo chemotherapy. But in 2024, seven months later, she died – after refusing treatment.

The brothers blame their mother's conspiracy theories for Paloma's death at the age of 23 - while oncologists interviewed by the BBC warn that these beliefs are becoming more widespread.

Kate Shemirani has not directly responded to the allegations, but has publicly blamed the National Health Service (NHS) for her daughter's death.

She and her ex-husband, Paloma's father, Faramarz Shemirani, have written to the BBC, saying they have evidence that "Paloma died as a result of medical interventions performed without a confirmed diagnosis or legal consent." 

The BBC has seen no evidence to support these claims.

Paloma's older brother, Sebastian, said that "my sister died as a direct result of my mother's actions and beliefs, and I don't want anyone else to experience the pain or loss that I have experienced." 

Both brothers have said they have contacted the BBC about Paloma's case in the hope that they can prevent further deaths, and believe that social media companies should take tougher action against medical misinformation - which, according to BBC investigations, is being actively promoted on some of the major platforms.

"I couldn't save my sister from death. But it would mean a lot to me if I could ensure that she doesn't just become another name on the long list of those who die this way," Gabriel said.

For BBC Radio 2's Panorama and podcast Marianna in Conspiracyland 4, the BBC journalist has broken down how this young Cambridge graduate refused treatment that could have saved her life - by following her online footsteps and interviewing people close to her.

The BBC journalist has discovered that conspiracy theorists like Kate Shemirani are spreading once-marginal anti-medical views to millions of followers - which could leave the most vulnerable people at great risk to their health or lives.

The fight against medical misinformation is becoming increasingly difficult due to well-known figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have previously expressed unscientific positions, said oncologist Tom Roques, vice president of the Royal College of Radiologists, which also represents cancer specialists.

"When you have a US Secretary of Health and Human Services actively promoting views, such as the correlation between vaccines and autism, that have been dismissed for years, then it becomes much easier for others to spread false ideas," he argued.

"I think the danger is that alternative and more harmful treatments are becoming more acceptable and more widespread. This could cause more harm to people," he added.

Since taking office as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has said that he is not anti-vaccine and only supports more safety testing.

Conspiracy theories on the way to school

Paloma and her twin brother Gabriel, along with Sebastian and their younger sister, grew up in the small town of Uckfield in Sussex, where, according to the brothers, they were exposed to conspiracy theories in the family.

"The 'audio playlist' on the way to school," Gabriel said, "was conspiracy theorist Alex Jones talking about how the Sandy Hook massacre was staged or how 11/XNUMX was 'an inside job.'"

The brothers have revealed that it was their father who first started dabbling in conspiracy theories, which piqued their mother's interest. The children took for granted unrealistic ideas, including the idea that the Royal Family was actually a species of shape-shifting snake, Gabriel said. "As a little kid, you trust your parents. So you see it as truth," he added.

Sebastian believes their mother used these ideas as a way to control them. On one occasion, Kate Shemirani, told him that the Wi-Fi was dangerous and turned it off at home, ignoring his pleas to turn in his schoolwork. “This only fed her pleasure in using her irrational belief system to control me,” he said.

According to her sons, Shemirani's anti-medical views accelerated in 2012, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Although she had the tumor removed through surgery, she attributed her recovery to alternative therapies and has said online that she used a program that included juices and coffee enemas to beat the cancer. 
Paloma had embraced some of these ideas, said Chantelle, one of her best childhood friends. “Paloma talked about her mother who had cured herself, and she believed that sunscreen could cause cancer. I remember getting really bad sunburns at school,” she said.

After their parents separated, Gabriel and Sebastian moved away from their mother. But Paloma maintained contact with her, even when she went to study at Cambridge University in 2019.

"Paloma's strategy was to calm down, to be sweet, to try to win the love she hadn't received before," Sebastian said.

The messages that Paloma shared with her then-boyfriend, Ander Harris – and which he has simultaneously shared with the BBC – reveal a relationship with her mother that had moments of love and care, but also periods when Paloma saw her as toxic and abusive.

During Christmas 2022, she had told Ander that her mother was blaming her for the fact that the other children were not coming home for Christmas. 

"I am very, very, very tired of the mistreatment," she wrote, suggesting in a strong word that this treatment was ongoing.

Her mother kept coming into her room and “being mean,” Paloma wrote in a text message, adding that she had hit her. Paloma fled to a friend’s house. Later, she sent Ander a text message saying she broke up with her mother, saying it was “the point where I crossed the line. ‘You hurt me every time I let you near me and I will never let you go again. I am beyond hurt.’”

At university, Paloma seemed to occasionally distance herself from her mother's beliefs. Chantelle said she began eating meat and using fluoride toothpaste. But like Chantelle, Ander said she remained skeptical of the Covid-19 vaccine and refused to take it.

“A concern about parental influence”

In late 2023, shortly after completing her studies, Paloma began to experience chest pain and difficulty breathing. She went to the hospital.

Doctors suspected a tumor, but Ander said that he and Paloma, "one of the smartest people I've ever known," were initially hopeful that it wouldn't be malignant.

However, on December 22, Paloma and Anderi went together to Maidstone Hospital, where doctors gave her the diagnosis. If left untreated, this type of cancer can be fatal, but doctors had told Paloma that she had an 80 percent chance of recovery if she underwent chemotherapy.

Paloma broke the news to her mother. Ander said that Paloma still wanted her support, even though their relationship had just gone through a difficult period. Kate Shemirani had said that she would come to the hospital. But Paloma was afraid to meet her and spoke to the medical staff about her concerns.

Evidence obtained by the BBC suggests that Paloma's way of thinking may have been influenced by her mother during the two days she was a patient at Maidstone Hospital.

Kate Shemirani wrote a message to Ander saying: "tell Paloma not to submit to and not to verbally accept chemotherapy or any other treatment."

Ander and his mother, who was also there, raised concerns with hospital staff about Kate Shemirani's beliefs and her relationship with Paloma.

The medical staff discussed concerns about Paloma's protection among themselves and wrote that they had "a concern about parental influence" on her. However, they felt that Paloma had the capacity to make decisions for herself.

For advice, Paloma reached out to a former partner of Kate Shemirani, named Patrick Vickers. Paloma had a good relationship with him, Ander said. He is also an alternative health practitioner.

When Paloma asked about the “chance of cure” that doctors had told her chemotherapy would offer, Vickers said that was “exaggerated.” He encouraged her to start the Gerson therapy and perhaps consider chemotherapy if her symptoms did not improve after six weeks.

Vickers told the BBC that any “allegation that I played a role in her [Paloma's] death is legally incorrect.” He also shared with the BBC documents supporting the Gerson therapy.

The Gerson Therapy involves a strict plant-based diet, along with juices, supplements, and coffee enemas. Some people claim—without scientific evidence—that it can be used to treat several different forms of cancer.

Paloma was worried about the negative side effects of chemotherapy, Ander told the BBC, as it can cause fatigue, nausea, hair loss and affect fertility. Nursing staff talked to Paloma about freezing her eggs and using wigs when she was diagnosed.
The charity Cancer Research UK has said that the Gerson therapy can also have serious side effects, including dehydration, intestinal inflammation, and heart and lung problems.

At some point during her two days in the hospital, Paloma made her decision. She decided to skip chemotherapy — at least for now — and try the Gerson Therapy first.

On December 23, Kate Shemirani sent Ander a voice message giving him instructions to take Paloma to her home, saying she had arranged for doctors for her. 

She suggested that Paloma's time with a friend she wanted to meet be limited to Christmas Day — and said in the message that they could see her "at home for maybe half an hour or as long as they wanted, or we could do it via FaceTime."

Ander says he didn't feel he could object. Paloma "was in a fight-or-flight mode and just wanted to be taken care of and, you know, not have to make any difficult decisions," he said. "Her mother apparently took advantage of that."

Promoting misinformation

Kate Shemirani is promoting the ideas she recommended to her daughter to a wider audience online. A former NHS nurse in the 1980s, she calls herself the “Natural Nurse” on social media.

On its website, it sells apricot seeds for their "potential health benefits" along with nutritional supplements and offers information and advice.

She charges around £70 a year for membership to her site, and a fee of £195 for a consultation and 12-week personal programme for patients — including those with cancer.

On social media, she posts videos promoting her products and sometimes criticizes "misinformed people" who treat cancer with chemotherapy.

When the Covid pandemic spread in 2020, Kate Shemirani was one of many conspiracy theory influencers who found a wider audience. Her views seemed to have morphed from alternative health ideas to anti-establishment conspiracy theories.

She promoted false ideas that the pandemic was a hoax, that vaccines were part of a plan to kill many people, and that doctors and nurses should be punished for their role.

In 2021, a Nursing Council panel ruled that Kate Shemirani should be removed from the nursing roll for promoting misinformation about the pandemic. Several social media companies also suspended her profiles for promoting misinformation. “She disappeared from the scene,” Sebastian said.

But once Elon Musk took over the social network X in 2022, many conspiracy theory profiles and accounts returned, including Kate Shemirani's. She also returned to Facebook, and opened an account on TikTok.

Her audience has grown again – over the past six months, her content has millions of views on major social media platforms. 

TikTok has announced that it has now suspended Kate Shemirani's account for violating its policies on medical misinformation. According to Meta, "Instagram" and "Facebook" do not allow harmful medical misinformation. Meanwhile, the X platform has not responded.