In 2018, months after Sarah Sharp gave birth, she experienced a period that lasted more than a month. Following various tests, Sharp, then 31, received unexpected and frightening news: she had a rare uterine cancer. To treat it, doctors eventually needed to perform a hysterectomy. Sharp was devastated because she had hoped for another child. However, her dream of having another baby came true when her twin sister, Kathy Stoner, volunteered to be her gestational surrogate.
“This is so healing and so incredible,” Sharp, 33, an architectural sales representative in Nashville, told Today Parents. “It’s such a great example of selfless love. For me, it has challenged me in ways to understand how I can love people better, in ways I can be there for people selflessly.”
After uterine cancer caused infertility, Kathy Stoner offered to carry her twin sister Sarah Sharp’s baby. When Stoner first suggested the idea, she presented it in a light-hearted manner, but her intentions were genuine. Sharp’s medical journey began nine months after the birth of her first child, Charlotte James, now four. She experienced a period that didn’t stop for 35 days. Initially, she thought it was a postpartum change, but Stoner urged her twin to take a pregnancy test, which turned out positive.
Subsequent tests only led to confusion. Sharp’s doctor suspected a miscarriage or possibly an ectopic pregnancy, but when no signs of pregnancy were found, it became clear something more serious was happening. “The emotional rollercoaster was almost debilitating,” Sharp recalled. When doctors realized it wasn’t a miscarriage, it created more fear. “Okay, if it’s not a miscarriage, what is it?” she wondered.
Sharp’s OB-GYN performed a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, sending the tissue for testing. That’s when Sharp learned she had choriocarcinoma, a fast-growing and rare uterine cancer that starts in tissue that would normally become the placenta. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, this type of cancer required immediate treatment. The diagnosis brought back painful memories of Sharp’s father, who died of leukemia in his 30s when the twins were just four years old.
Cancer treatment was grueling for Sharp. She underwent surgery and began oral chemotherapy, but when the initial treatment proved ineffective, she had to switch to intravenous chemotherapy. “It was five chemotherapy drugs where I was overnight in the hospital. That was pretty tough,” she said. After six months, she was pronounced cancer-free. Unfortunately, the cancer returned in 2019, leading to more chemotherapy and a hysterectomy. “When doctors mentioned the possibility of removing my uterus during the first surgery, Kathy jokingly said, ‘It’s okay, I’ll have your babies,’” Sharp recalled. “I thought to myself, how wild would that be?”
Stoner, a dietitian in Franklin, Tennessee, confirmed her offer was genuine. “I was trying to lighten the mood, but it was my way of saying I’m here for you,” she said. Sharp, however, didn’t take the offer seriously at first. It wasn’t until Sharp went into remission in the spring of 2020 that the sisters revisited the idea. Stoner, who has two children, Ruthie, six, and Sam, four, had always enjoyed easy pregnancies and was eager to help her sister.
The sisters and their husbands had thorough discussions about what surrogacy would entail. “Sarah and Richard wanted to make sure I didn’t feel pressured,” Stoner said. “We had lots of talks about what this would look like.” Creating an embryo was the next step. Despite Sharp undergoing extensive chemotherapy, her egg quality remained unaffected, and she and her husband successfully created three viable embryos.
“We’ve been through so much with Sarah’s health that a little bit of waiting and unknown was honestly nothing compared to the years before,” Stoner said. Fortunately, the first embryo implanted successfully. “It was really refreshing to get those green lights because we’d come from years of setbacks,” Sharp added. “It was an answer to our prayers.”
Stoner’s pregnancy progressed smoothly, and she is carrying a baby boy. Sharp plans to catch the baby and cut the umbilical cord during delivery. The experience has brought the sisters even closer together. “I’m so honored and grateful for this incredible gift,” Sharp said. “I never thought in a million years we’d have another baby, and the fact that we have a son is amazing.”
Both Sharp and Stoner expressed how special this journey has been. “We’ve learned a lot about each other,” Stoner said. “We’ve worked together as a team through this pregnancy in an incredibly special way.” Sharp agreed, adding, “This journey has been something we’ll never forget.”
