Erika Diarte-Carr, a 30-year-old single mother from Utah, faced an unimaginably difficult journey after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. As the devoted mother of two young children, Jeremiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 5, Erika’s primary concern was ensuring their future well-being in the wake of her illness.
Her unexpected health challenges began the day before Mother’s Day in 2022 when a visit to the hospital for a shoulder injury revealed a diagnosis of Stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. This devastating discovery showed multiple tumors had metastasized to various parts of her body, including her skeletal system, causing the shoulder pain that had initially brought her to the hospital.
In addition to her cancer diagnosis, Erika received more difficult news in January: she was diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome. This rare condition, caused by excessive levels of cortisol, brought with it symptoms like rapid weight gain, swelling, muscle and bone deterioration, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes. With only 40 to 70 cases per million people, Cushing Syndrome further complicated her medical journey.
Despite these overwhelming health challenges, Erika continued working full-time, taking only a brief leave for surgeries, biopsies, appointments, and treatments including radiation and chemotherapy. However, as her condition worsened, she found herself unable to work and was eventually forced to stop working entirely.
Her battle with cancer reached a critical point during a September 18 appointment with her oncologist, where she learned her treatments were no longer effective. Given a prognosis of just three months to live, Erika made the heart-wrenching decision to discontinue treatment and dedicate her remaining time to her children and loved ones.
"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 had not been able to work for the past several months, she said she did 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.
Sadly, Erika Diarte-Carr passed away on October 11, 2024. Her cousin shared the tragic news in a social media post. “It is with a heavy heart that this is the final update I will be giving for my cousin Erika,” Carr’s cousin wrote. “She has joined her mother Sylvia, her Brother J.J., her uncles Chava & Loui on the other side.”
Carr died knowing her efforts, and those of her supporters, had raised more than a million dollars when her GoFundMe campaign went viral.
“She fought a long and hard battle. She was strong and held on as long as she could for her babies. I know she was so thankful for all of your support and love and prayers,” Carr’s cousin said.
