Erika Diarte-Carr, a 30-year-old mother who raised over $1 million to support her funeral and children while battling cancer, has passed away. She fought a rare and aggressive form of cancer, small-cell lung carcinoma, for two years before her death.
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Her passing was announced by her cousin, Angelique Rivera, who shared the news on Facebook. “She fought a long and hard battle. She was strong and held on as long she could for her babies,” Rivera wrote. Diarte-Carr’s battle with cancer started in May 2022 when she sought medical attention for what she assumed was a shoulder injury. According to TOO FAB, the single mother was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer after multiple tumors had metastasized throughout her body.
Last September, Diarte-Carr decided to discontinue treatment, knowing it would not be effective. She was given three months to live and used GoFundMe to raise $5,000 for her funeral and to leave something behind for her children. The fundraiser surpassed her initial goal, raising nearly $1.2 million.
“UPDATE: September 18th, 2024 I had a Dr. Appointment with my oncologist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the best news. Due to my prognosis, I have decided to discontinue treatments as they will no longer help. I have been given 3 months to live. 3 months to spend with my babies and loved ones. 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. 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. 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.”
On October 3, she expressed gratitude to her supporters for their donations and expressed her hope of going on a big family trip. Sadly, she passed away on October 12, just one day before she and her children were scheduled to be baptized together. Although she didn’t live to see the day, a touching video captured both Jeremiah and Aaliyah being baptized after their mother’s passing.