Gabriel Shemirani has claimed his mother had surgery to beat cancer but persuaded his sister, who sadly passed away, not to have conventional medical treatment.
Cambridge graduate Paloma Shemirani died in July last year aged 23 after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
Her mother, Kate Shemirani, is a notorious anti-vaxxer who was struck off the UK’s nursing register in 2021 for her extreme anti-medicine views, including discouraging the use of masks and vaccines.
Since Paloma’s death, her two brothers Sebastian and Gabriel have claimed their sister refused conventional chemotherapy because of pressure from their mother.
Gabriel appeared on Thursday’s instalment of This Morning and sat down with co-hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
He revealed that ‘for as long as I can remember’ conspiracy theories from his parents featured in his childhood.
Gabriel Shemirani has claimed his mother had surgery to beat cancer but persuaded his sister, who sadly passed away, not to have conventional medical treatment
Cambridge graduate Paloma Shemirani (pictured) died in July last year aged 23 after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer
Her mother, Kate Shemirani (pictured), is a notorious anti-vaxxer who was struck off the UK’s nursing register in 2021 for her extreme anti-medicine views, including discouraging the use of masks and vaccines
‘Me and my brother up to the age of 13 believed the royal family were shape-shifting lizards,’ he admitted.
‘Especially with my mum around the age of 12, it became the medical establishment is out to kill you, they’re seeking to kill you, you can’t touch them, you can’t have vaccines, all vaccines are dangerous, every vaccine is going to kill you,’ Gabriel added.
‘My mum got cancer in 2012, she got conventional diagnosis, conventional surgery, the surgery was essentially what cured her.’
After her experience with cancer, Kate’s conspiracies ‘accelerated’.
‘If you’re familiar with Mel Gibson or Jess Ainscough in Apple Cider Vinegar, I think my mum saw this as her opportunity to mould herself as a wellness therapist,’ Gabriel explained.
Gabriel thinks his mother ‘believes some’ of the theories but also tried to ‘use it as an opportunity’.
Around 2016 and 2017, Kate began to try to build an online following but she didn’t take off until the pandemic.
‘My sister started getting pains in her chest and her back around October 2023 and she was estranged from my mum at this point,’ Gabriel recounted.
Since Paloma’s death, her two brothers Sebastian and Gabriel have claimed their sister refused conventional chemotherapy because of pressure from their mother
Gabriel appeared on Thursday’s instalment of This Morning and sat down with co-hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard (left)
Paloma had a ‘conventional diagnosis’ and was ‘engaging with doctors and had scans’.
‘Unfortunately on the 22nd December she got told in hospital that she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma which for a girl of her age with her prognosis, very high survival rate,’ he added.
‘I remember thinking, she’ll do chemotherapy and she’ll be fine. She was engaging with her doctors and she was actively weighing up her options but it was when she told my mum ‘I’ve got cancer’ that was when the control and coercion started.
‘Before I knew it my sister had gone from not speaking to my mum to now she’s removed from the hospital, doctors are stopped from contacting her and she’s been coerced into doing this alternative therapy that my mum was advocating.’
He added: ‘My mother and father pressured her into not doing chemotherapy, either it was some of their associates feeding my sister misinformation regarding chemotherapy saying it will kill you or the survival rate isn’t true.
‘Or they were saying, our treatment is going to leave you fertile and it’s 100% chance of survival.’
Gabriel recalled how he was told on Christmas Eve by his sister’s boyfriend that she had been discharged from hospital and was taking an alternative route.
He said: ‘I remember in that moment thinking ‘Oh god, my sister is going to die if I don’t do something as soon as possible’. I know my brother had a similar feeling as well.’
He added: ‘My mother and father pressured her into not doing chemotherapy, either it was some of their associates feeding my sister misinformation regarding chemotherapy saying it will kill you or the survival rate isn’t true.’
Gabriel recalled how he was told on Christmas Eve by his sister’s boyfriend that she had been discharged from hospital and was taking an alternative route
Gabriel had expressed how he disagreed with his mum’s treatment plan for Paloma and claims he was subsequently stopped from seeing her for the last seven months of her life.
Cat asked: ‘How do you feel about your mum now in respect to your sister?’
Gabriel replied: ‘It’s my opinion that she sacrificed my sister on the altar of ideology for her own benefit, for her own public exposure.
‘I have no feelings towards her. I think she should face justice, I’m determined for her to face justice.’
Towards the end of the discussion, Ben said: ‘We did reach out to Paloma’s mum and dad, your parents, neither responded directly to the allegations but your mother has made unfounded allegations against the hospital and its staff.
‘We’ve seen no evidence to substantiate these claims. The inquest is due to begin next month to establish the circumstances surrounding Paloma’s death.’
He asked: ‘What are you hoping you get from the inquest?’
Gabriel said: ‘I’m hoping they establish the facts and they find the information that my sister died as a result of the rejection of treatment and as a result the non-Hodgkin lymphoma went untreated.
Gabriel had expressed how he disagreed with his mum’s treatment plan for Paloma and claims he was subsequently stopped from seeing her for the last seven months of her life
‘For me, a definitive cause of death needs to be established first, before we can start talking about medical negligence and getting justice for my sister and a possible criminal case, it’s definitely something I’m discussing with my lawyers.’
He hopes to help ‘save many other people’ from being ‘coerced’ into alternative treatments.
‘But also seeing if we can get the law changed to acknowledge medical coercion better with the online bill that’s going through… right now legal but harmful is still allowed and I don’t think that should be the case.’
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1 from 10am and is available to stream on ITVX.
