Walter Gordy, 37, and Mark Tolson, 36, are two men who have been friends for twelve years and both come from similar backgrounds. Each of them were raised as only children by mothers who became pregnant with them through artificial insemination. Now, after a dozen years of friendship, a strange turn of events led to the two friends learning that they are half-brothers.

“Thirty five years later I found out I had a brother, so that’s pretty amazing to me,” Mark said, with Walter adding, “In the end, all the pain and all the hurt I went through… was all worth it knowing I have a blessing at the end.”

It all started five years ago, when Walter noticed that a lump on his neck before doctors diagnosed him with a lymphoma.

“It was devastating for me because I had been healthy my entire life,” he recalled. “Never had anything more than a cold.”

After nine months of treatment, Walter was declared to be cancer-free. This whole experience inspired Walter to get genetic testing through 23AndMe to see if he was prone to any other health problems. He was not able to find any of his father’s relatives on the testing site, but 23AndMe saved his profile.

Later on, Mark decided to submit his DNA to 23AndMe after the birth of his son so that he could learn more about his family. He was stunned when he learned that he was a match to his longtime friend Walter, and that the two were brothers!

“I saw a part that said DNA relatives, so I clicked on that,” Mark explained. “It popped up and it said Walt Gordon III. I was like, ‘Mom, I know him!'”

It turns out that Walter and Mark’s mothers, who had known each other for 13 years, had unknowingly ended up using sperm from the same donor. Mark immediately called Walter to tell him the news, and he could not believe his ears when he heard. Their story serves as a reminder that even the worst things in life can lead to something beautiful.

“The cancer was the best thing that ever to me because I was able to find a blessing on the end,” Gordy said. “I feel like anybody that has cancer you can look up and see something better in the end.”

Find out more about this incredible discovery in the video below.