A young and single Utah mother of two small children was told by her doctors that she has three months to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Erika Diarte-Carr, 33, is now planning her own funeral and raising money to leave behind a trust fund for her children: Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5.
Diarte-Carr was at the hospital to treat a shoulder injury in May 2022 when she learned she had Stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, she wrote on a GoFundMe page. The doctor told her there were multiple tumors that had metastasized to other parts of her body including her skeletal system, which is how the tumor that was causing her shoulder pain was located.
The woman began treatment for the cancer before she was given more devastating news this past January, when she was diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome, which is caused by an excess amount of the stress hormone cortisol and includes symptoms such as weight gain, weak muscles and high blood pressure.
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She said the Cushing led to several other underlying health issues, including rapid weight gain, swelling, muscle and bone deterioration, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.
Cushing is extremely rare, with only about 40 to 70 people out of every 1 million having it, according to the National Institutes of Health.
After her diagnosis, she continued working full-time and only took off two months early on for surgeries, biopsies, appointments, radiation and chemotherapy treatments. But due to her deteriorating health, she eventually found herself unable to work and has now been out of work for months.
Diarte-Carr said she had an appointment with her oncologist on Sept. 18, when she was informed that her treatments were not working, and she had only three months to live. She then decided to discontinue her treatments and spend her remaining time with her children.
"I have been given 3 months to live. 3 months to spend with my babies and loved ones," she wrote on the GoFundMe page. "3 months to make the best of what time I have left. During these next couple of months I need to make sure my kids will be ok after I am gone. I am faced now with the most difficult thing of planning my own funeral."
Because she has not been able to work for the past several months, she says she does not have money saved up or life insurance set aside.
"I have looked into the expenses and I am needing to raise about $5,000 to ensure funeral costs are covered plus I'm wanting to leave something behind for my babies," she said.
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The GoFundMe page was created shortly after Diarte-Carr learned of her diagnosis when she was still 30. She has far surpassed her $5,000 goal and wants to leave the rest in a trust fund for her children.
As of Monday morning, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $1 million.
"All the funds that have exceeded my funeral cost will be now put into a trust fund for my babies," Diarte-Carr wrote. "That way, I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up."
"They are my whole life, light and soul. My children are my fight and what keep me going," she said.
