Woman has Twin’s baby after Cancer Diagnosis

Call it a labor of love.

A Long Island woman gave birth to her twin’s baby after cancer stopped the sister from getting pregnant.

Dawn Ardolino-Policastro, of Mineola, gave birth to a boy on Aug. 5 after her twin learned she couldn't have any more children.

Six years ago, twin Allison Ardolino-Dinkelacker was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer while she was 30-weeks pregnant with her first child, their friend Allison Maffettone said.

The expectant mother immediately underwent chemotherapy and had an emergency C-section, giving her a healthy baby boy.

Alison, now 37 and cancer-free, and her husband wanted to add one more to the happy family. But her cancer was hormone-positive, meaning pregnancy hormones like estrogen and progesterone could promote cancerous cells to grow.

"If you survive this, you will never be able to carry another child," Allison's oncologist told her at an appointment, where she was accompanied by her sister.

"Well before he even finished his sentence Dawn jumped in and said it doesn't matter because I am going to carry their child," Allison said in a Facebook post.

Dawn, who is married with two boys of her own, became the couple's surrogate. She kept the baby's sex a secret, even managing to hide a "Shhh...It's a boy!" sign during a maternity photo shoot.

The night that Hudson William was born, Allison took to social media to express her everlasting gratitude for her sister, with whom she shares "one soul in two different bodies."

"Dawn, you amaze me!" Allison wrote. "You have given us not just the fulfillment of a wish we've had for the last six years, but a whole new life, and a family of 4 we thought we'd never have."

The twins declined to be interviewed because "they're just enjoying their time" right now, a representative told the Daily News.

The women have always "been very close" and "live right down the block from each other," their dad, Carmine Ardolino, told the Daily News.

"This is a miracle baby," he said. "And I'm very excited that Dawn did this for her sister. It takes a lot."