What happened to Erika Carr? GoFundMe raises more than $900K for Ogden Utah mom planning her own funeral over rare cancer

Erika Carr, a mother of two, has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is currently organizing her own funeral. Carr, who is currently 33, was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of small-cell lung cancer three years ago.

Additionally, she was later diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome complications, which caused her health to deteriorate rapidly. Later on, the doctor discovered that she had numerous metastasized malignancies throughout her body and gave her only three months to live.

Erika Carr's GoFundMe page (Image via GoFundMe)

Hence, Erika Carr set up a GoFundMe page on September 29 to pay for her funeral costs and her kids' future following her death. At the time of writing this article, the campaign has raised over $900,000. Explaining her story on the page, she said,

“These last 2 years I have been silently battling a rare terminal cancer.. Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma."

She added:

"On May 7th, 2022… I walked into the emergency room due to what I thought to be just a normal shoulder injury and walked out diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer… By that point the damage had already been done.”

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Erika Carr's GoFundMe surpasses original fundraising goal

Erika Carr set up the GoFundMe campaign with the intention of raising $5,000 to cover her funeral. She received the news about her condition in 2022, just one day before Mother's Day. She later found out that she also had Cushing Syndrome.

On September 18, 2024, she was given three months to live. Later, on her GoFundMe website, she said,

“The doctor then proceeded to tell me that there were multiple tumors that had metastasized to other parts of my body including my skeletal, which is how we were able to find the tumor that was causing my shoulder pain. By that point the damage had already been done.”

Erika Carr also stated that she has been able to maintain a full-time job since receiving her diagnosis, only taking a two-month break at first for biopsies, surgeries, consultations, radiation, and chemotherapy.

She then added,

“The physical effects are starting to take control and I can’t hide it any longer. I’ve never been good at accepting or asking for help but unfortunately, I believe I’ve come to a point in my life and health where that is no longer an option for me. I am no longer able to physically work which has put a major financial burden on me.”

In addition, she stated in the description of her fundraising that she gained almost 60 pounds in a few weeks due to Cushing Syndrome. She began to experience symptoms like "Moon Face," deterioration of her bones and muscles, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes. She eventually lost her ability to walk.

She also stated to ABC:

“It happened overnight. I never expected that. I never expected to have a big funeral service, or a lot of people reach out and help me. With the way it’s went, I’m just in shock … just very grateful for everybody and everything that’s been there.”

With the page receiving over $900,000, it stated that any funds left after paying for the funeral would be transferred to her children's trust account to secure their future. She added:

“That way, I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up. Me and my family thank you ALL from the bottom of our hearts. [My children] are my whole life, light and soul. My children are my fight and what keep me going.”

13.3K people have already donated, with $5000 being the top donation from an anonymous source.