When Erika Diarte-Carr admitted herself to an emergency room with a shoulder injury, she had no idea her worst fears were about to be realized. The single mom-of-two - 30 at the time - expected straightforward treatment for what seemed like a minor issue, but was diagnosed with terminal cancer soon after. Doctors said the pain was linked to a highly aggressive form of small cell lung carcinoma and located multiple tumors throughout her body.
Iran poised to join Israel's all-out war as conflict hits 'point of no return' Terrifying aerial images capture devastation after Hurricane Helene hit Florida "By that point the damage had already been done," she said. "In that moment, mine and my kids' entire lives had changed forever." But Erika, now 33, was dealt another blow months later when she was diagnosed with with Cushing Syndrome, a hormonal disorder that occurs when the body is exposed to too much cortisol, which led her to rapidly gain 66 lbs in a matter of weeks.
Two years later, the mother of Ailiyah, five, and Jeremiah, seven, is planning her own funeral after stopping treatment. In September, she was told she had just three months to live and advised to spend quality time with her children. Erika, from Utah , revealed her battle as she launched a GoFundMe page , which has so far raised more than $800,000.
Her original target was $5,000. "These last two years I have been silently battling a rare terminal cancer..
Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), a high-grade neuroendocrin.
