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Mother Erika Diarte-Carr, 33, plans her funeral after going to the doctor with shoulder pain and receiving a tragic diagnosis

Mother Erika Diarte-Carr, 33, plans her funeral after going to the doctor with shoulder pain and receiving a tragic diagnosis

Vaseline 7 days ago

A mother-of-two has been forced to plan her own funeral after going to a doctor with a shoulder injury, only to be given a shock cancer diagnosis.

Doctors told Erika Diarte-Carr, now 33, that she had developed a very aggressive form of small cell lung carcinoma – or lung cancer – three years ago.

Erika Diarte-Carr pictured with her son and daughter

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Erika Diarte-Carr pictured with her son and daughterCredit: GoFundMe
She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of small cell lung carcinoma

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She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of small cell lung carcinomaCredit: Facebook
The mother now has three months to live

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The mother now has three months to liveCredit: ABC4 Utah

Diarte-Carr received the tragic news just one day before Mother’s Day in 2022 when she went to a hospital to have her shoulder pain treated.

Since then, the mother began her treatments to cure the dangerous form of cancer, which included multiple surgeries, biopsies, radiation and painful chemotherapy treatments.

However, she stopped receiving her treatments in September this year after realizing they were no longer effective.

Doctors tragically told her she had only three months to live.

Diarte-Carr said: “Three months (is all I have) to spend with my babies and loved ones. (Only) three months to make the most of the time I have left.”

After learning about the shock cancer diagnosis in 2022, the mother began gaining weight rapidly, weighing more than 50 pounds within weeks.

She soon developed other medical conditions, including bone deterioration, high blood pressure, moon face and type 2 diabetes.

But the single mother of two continued to work full-time to feed her two children.

Diarte-Carr revealed the tragic moment she realized a deadly cancer was growing in her body.

I was diagnosed with colon cancer after feeling tired all the time

Speaking to ABC4, she said: “At that point, the damage was already done. In that moment, mine and my children’s entire lives were changed forever.”

The mother also said she wanted to spend more time with her children without getting sick from treatments and medications.

But she is now facing extreme challenges in managing her finances after months of not working due to her health condition.

Diarte-Carr has now set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of $5,000 to help plan her funeral and spend more time with her family.

She wrote in the fundraiser: “Because I have not been able to work for months, I have not saved any money or set aside life insurance for this situation.

“If you can please donate or share anything, it would be appreciated.”

Diarte-Carr’s niece Angelique Rivera shared a heartbreaking photo and said: “We are at a loss for words and can never say thank you enough.”

Diarte-Carr’s five-year-old daughter Ailiyah told ABC 4: “She’s special to us.”

The family plans to go camping and they hope the children can enjoy another Christmas with their mother, reports DailyMail.

What is small cell lung carcinoma?

SMALL Lung Carcinoma, or symply lung cancer, is one of the most common and dangerous forms of cancer affecting people around the world.

Only one in ten patients survive ten years or more after diagnosis, and lung tumors are responsible for 21 percent of cancer deaths in Britain but only 13 percent of cases.

Every year, approximately 49,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer and 35,000 die from it.

The main reason it is so deadly is that the symptoms are not obvious in the early stages.

When signs appear, they may include:

  • A cough that lasts three weeks or more and can be painful
  • Repeated chest infections
  • Coughing up blood
  • Breathlessness
  • Unusual fatigue

The NHS does not routinely screen for lung cancer, but is rolling out more tests among high-risk smokers and ex-smokers in a bid to detect the disease earlier. Testing may include X-rays and CT scans of the chest.

Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and is responsible for approximately 70 percent of cases.

The risk may also be greater for people who have inhaled other fumes or toxic substances at work, such as asbestos, coal smoke or silica.

Diarte-Carr's five-year-old daughter Ailiyah said her mother is

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Diarte-Carr’s five-year-old daughter Ailiyah said her mother is “very special.”Credit: ABC4 Utah