It would be difficult to find a woman more fiercely determined to be a mother than Stacey Cobb.
A few years ago, Stacey, then 25, was preparing for her wedding to Jason Cobb. Until, a routine gynecological exam changed everything. Stacey had cervical cancer and needed a radical hysterectomy. Her thoughts turned to the children she may or may not be able to have.
Stacey and Jason were fortunate to be in Pittsburgh with access to some of the most advanced research and treatment programs for women’s cancer and infertility. Stacey’s oncologist explained that in vitro fertilization (IVF) with frozen embryo transfer (FET) to a gestational surrogate may enable her to have her own biological children after cancer treatment. The success rate is more than 43 percent for women her age.
Determined to be a mother, Stacey initiated IVF a few weeks after her surgery. Eggs from Stacey were fertilized with sperm from Jason. Thirteen embryos resulted that were then frozen at Magee for future transfer to a surrogate.
Stacey and Jason pursued adoption as well as a surrogate pregnancy using their frozen embryos. In October 2007, while traveling to Moscow to adopt 18-month-old Evan, the Cobbs learned that the FET was successful. They were pregnant at last. Brandon was born in May 2008.
The Cobbs are grateful for the innovative research and care at Magee that halted Stacey’s cancer and preserved her fertility. Some call Stacey an inspiration, she prefers to be called “Evan’s and Brandon’s mom.”