Erika Diarte-Carr dies from rare cancer after Utah mom raises more than $1M for her two children in the weeks before the single mom’s impending death after told she had only 3 months left to live following battle with small cell lung cancer and Cushing Syndrome.
A Utah mother with a rare cancer has died aged just 33 after raising more than $Im for her children’s future in her final weeks as the parent prepared her own funeral.
Erika Diarte-Carr‘s family shared monochrome photos of the mom of two’s final moments (see below) before she passed away in bed on Friday.
‘RIP my beautiful angel, forever in our hearts and never forgotten,’ her cousin, Angelique Rivera wrote on social media. ‘I’ll see you on the other side my boo.’
Diarte-Carr began planning her own funeral after being told she had a highly aggressive form of small cell lung carcinoma when she was just 30 years old in 2021.
The single mother of five-year-old Ailiyah and seven-year-old Jeremiah suffered with multiple metastasized tumors throughout her body.
Despite aggressive treatment, the disease morphed into terminal Cushing Syndrome earlier this year, before being told by her oncologist in September, she had no more than 3 months to live.
It was then on June 26, Diarte-Carr who was now planning for her impending death sought $5K donations for burial costs on GoFundme and any sums left over to be given to her two surviving children, Gephard Daily reported.
With an update that she now only had less than 3 moths to live in September, and that the single mom wanted to secure her two young children’s future, Diarte-Carr’s fundraiser won the hearts of thousands, with the fundraiser as of Monday raising over $1,176,469.
Diarte-Carr’s shock terminal cancer diagnosis came after the mom walked into an emergency room complaining of a saw shoulder, three years ago.
Necessary surgery soon led to doctors discovering Diarte-Carr living with a rare lung cell cancer in May, 2022, before learning on January 17 this year she also was living with the more aggressive, Cushing Syndrome.
This caused her to rapidly gain weight, more than 60 pounds in a matter of weeks.
Diarte-Carr began experiencing muscle and bone deterioration, high blood pressure, Moon Face and Type 2 Diabetes, leading to her eventually being unable to walk, ABC 4 reported.
Nevertheless, the single mom kept working full time for as long as possible, only taking two months off for appointments, surgeries, biopsies, radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
‘I have been ashamed and embarrassed for people to know the truth that I have kept this a secret for as long as I could,’ the mom of two wrote on a GoFundMe page, ‘but the physical effects are starting to take control, and I can’t hide it any longer.’
Treatments stopped when her scans began clearing up, but her Cushing’s dramatically impacted her health and quality of life in the following months.
Diarte-Carr said her Cushing’s diagnosis was one of the main reasons her health deteriorated so much.
Diarte-Carr ceased her treatments in September, as they were no longer effective, along with being told she only had three months to live.
‘Three months to spend with my babies and loved ones,’ she wrote, ‘three months to make the best of what time I have left.’
Diarte-Carr explained that she wanted to spend time with her children without being sick from treatments and medications.
Saying all her energy now goes towards her kids, and she wanted to ‘just make the best of it’ in the time left.
The single mom of two was now faced with the difficult duty of planning her own funeral, and ensuring her children would be looked after.
Asking for help in any way, Diarte-Carr launched the page with a $5,000 goal to be used for her funeral expenses and support for her kids after her death. The fundraiser would eventually garner over $1.1m.
‘Due to me not being able to work for months now I do not have any finances saved up or any life insurance set aside for this situation. If you could please donate or share anything would be appreciated,’ the mom stated.
Plenty of others offered help to the children and Diarte-Carr in her final months, with toys, donations, food, and asked how they can get involved.
She thanked those that have contributed, writing: ‘All the funds that have exceeded my funeral cost will now be put into a trust fund for my babies, that way I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up.’
Responded a donor, ‘Praying for you, for your final days on this side of Heaven.’
