Everything Sydney Towle Shared About Rare Cancer Battle Before Death

TikToker Sydney Towle Moved to Hospice Amid Rare Bile Duct Cancer BattleWith more than one million followers on TikTok, influencer Sydney Towle fielded a lot of questions in her DMs. Chief among them as she battled the rare bile duct cancer she was diagnosed with at age 23, the New Hampshire native detailed in a June 2026 video, "People always ask why I’m so positive." At the time, she was posting from a New York City hospital bed, awaiting the start of yet another clinical trial involving tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte where doctors attempted to grow cells that could treat the condition she'd been fighting for three years. But even as she struggled to walk, moving in with mom Elizabeth Morrow (her dad Philip Towle died in 2016) once the five-floor climb to her apartment became too much, "Why would I not envision the best-case scenario, the best way of things working out?" she wondered. "Nobody knows for sure what’s going to happen; like, miracles happen every day." One of Towle's final updates came weeks later—16 days before her family announced her death at the age of 26. Followers had grown used to her blend travel videos (hiking through Spain, traveling Ireland and flying cross-country with her chemo port to attend Coachella) GRWM content and messages from the chemo bay. In fact, her unique ability to remain upbeat through the most dire of news—when her oncologist told Towle he would be transitioning her to end-of-life care in May, she switched hospitals and walked in Miami Swim Week days later—had turned a collection of Redditors into skeptics, determined to prove she was a fraud. "People will comment things like, 'You can’t have cancer—you still have your hair,'" she revealed to People, "or 'You don’t look sick.'" But in her July 21 missive, she acknowledged, "I'm not gonna lie, every day is extremely challenging with the pain that I am constantly experiencing, but I have hope that I can do this." And she did. While her battle ended Aug. 5, "I'm bringing light to this," she explained to Today of her continued social media posts. "It always seems to help people feel less alone like they're not the only ones that are going through something that’s very challenging."Sydney Towle/InstagramWhen Was Sydney Towle Diagnosed With Cancer? Admittedly, Towle—a Dartmouth University grad living in Los Angeles where she worked a marketing job and built-up a social media following on the side—had initially ignored the bump in her stomach she noticed during a May 2023 run. But then the burning sensation got to the point "where I couldn't even go on walks anymore," she detailed to People. An urgent care physician assumed it was a hernia, but sent her for an ultrasound just in case. When doctors discovered a mass, a subsequent MRI confirmed "it was cancerous," Towle told Today. She immediately shared the news on TikTok.What Type of Cancer Did Sydney Towle Have? Testing determined the Ivy League grad had cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer that grows on the tubes that connect the liver, gallbladder and small intestine and is most often diagnosed with those in their '70s. "I've never heard of bile duct cancer," Towle acknowledged to Today. "I only knew the major forms of cancer like breast cancer, lymphoma." Her disease was so rare, she added, "There's not one set treatment plan." But hers involved five initial months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, followed by a January 2024 surgery to remove what remained. "I came out of it, and the surgeon said that she got all of it pretty much," she shared with Today. "There was some cancer like left on the margin where they resected my liver. But overall the tumors were gone." However, subsequent MRIs detected a lesion that August that soon doubled in size. Moving to New York, she linked up with a new medical team who informed her that despite the cancer on her liver and one abdominal lymph node, her white blood cell count was too low for chemo, meaning she'd have to explore clinical trials. What Did Sydney Towle Share About Her Cancer Journey? Throughout her entire three-year battle, Towle excelled at finding even the slimmest of silver linings. Though she'd spend days in bed after receiving chemotherapy and dealt with bloating and swelling, "I feel like I got pretty lucky with the symptoms," she told Today. "I wasn't getting extremely sick." In addition to the chemo (she started a second round in December 2024), Towle underwent a series of clinical trials and received a hepatic pump to deliver the medicine directly to her liver. While it was certainly a battle, the toughest part was "watching my friends go out to dinners or just live their lives, while I couldn't even leave the house some days," Towle shared with People in 2025. "I feel like my life was on pause while everyone else's kept moving." It was the moments where she truly got to live—like a chemo-free trip to Ireland in April—that kept her pushing forward. "I want more happiness and friendship and love and live," she explained in an April 28 TikTok. "I'm terrified that's not gonna happen, but we'll just get through tomorrow and then we'll take it as it comes." Sydney Towle/InstagramWhat Did Sydney Towle's Brother Austin Towle and Mom Share About Her Death? It was Austin Towle that informed his sister's followers Aug. 4 that she had been moved to hospice, or end-of-life care. She was "surrounded by her friends and family," he detailed, noting, "Your love and support does not go unnoticed." Two days later, he and her mom revealed Towle's death. "Syd went peacefully last night," Austin detailed in the TikTok. "She fought really hard and we're so proud of her." Echoed his mother, "Thank you for all your kind messages of support and love. We really appreciate it. And she will not be forgotten." Look back at all the living Towle packed into her 26 years. Sydney Towle/InstagramDartmouth BoundSydney Towle set her eyes on Dartmouth as her next destination following high school graduation, marking her “Go Green!” spirit with a bedazzled graduation cap in May 2018.Sydney Towle/InstagramCollege CommunityThe influencer certainly made a home at the Ivy League institution, building a strong community of incredible friends. And as she put it in April 2022, “The people make the place.”Sydney Towle/InstagramOh, the Places She’ll GoThe Dartmouth graduate made the world her oyster, embarking on many globe-trotting adventures. In fact, she told her followers in a December 2022 Instagram post recapping her trip to Amsterdam, “Call me Mrs. Worldwide.”Sydney Towle/InstagramBeach BabesShortly after Towle was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, in May 2023, she and her friends were all smiles during a special trip to the beach in August 2023.Sydney Towle/InstagramThe TikToker shared a selfie from her first day of chemotherapy in September 2023 and proved she was ready to tackle her health battle. “There’s a long road ahead, but it’s paved with a whole lotta love and support (and monopoly),” she wrote on Instagram. “There’s not much else to say besides that I’m very grateful to be here anddd let’s go kick cancer’s ass.”Sydney Towle/InstagramRound TwoOne year later, Towle began her second round of chemo with a bold hair transformation, switching from her signature blonde to brunette locks. She carried that same boldness into her treatment, writing on Instagram in December 2024, “Time to kick some ass again I guess.”Amy Sussman/Getty Images for The Business of FashionBeautiful BusinesswomanThe influencer took her life experience to the masses while speaking as a panelist during the Connection in the Age of Disruption" panel at the Business of Beauty Global Forum in Napa, Calif., in June 2025.Sydney Towle/InstagramMirror Selfies and MindsetTowle shared a vulnerable look at the scars on her stomach from her cancer treatments, including one from a pump that delivered chemo directly to her liver. Although she admitted she was “self-conscious,” she captioned the August 2025 post, “Now I am more like YAAAA I got a pump! And it’s saving my life! And could save a lot of other people’s! So pump = baddie addie addie.” Sydney Towle/InstagramCoachella QueenThe 26-year-old attended the Coachella Music Festival with her besties in April 2026 and noted, “It just keeps getting better!”Sydney Towle/InstagramDetermined FighterTowle remained determined after a doctor informed her that she was “at the end of [her] rope.” “I told him no,” she captioned a selfie from her hospital bed on Instagram May 2026. “My rope is not finished yet. I am tying more on with the love of my family and friends and we will move on. Continuing to advocate for myself and for others who aren’t able to. Continuing to find solutions that are outside of the box and that may not seem like the straight, or even right, path forward. Because you never know unless you try.” Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Miami Swim Week: The ShowsSwimming Toward Her LegacyMonths before her death, Towle bared her cancer treatment scars while walking down a runway in a bikini at the Chemo Club x Post Swim show during Miami Swim Week in May 2026. Austin Towle/TikTokHospice CareIn August 2026, the influencer’s brother Austin Towle shared that his sister had been moved into hospice care—a comfort-focused approach when a cure is not an option—amid her ongoing health battle. “Sydney has been moved to hospice and is surrounded by her friends and family,” he wrote on TikTok. “Thank you all for your love and support.” InstagramIn MemoriamTowle passed away on August 5, her family confirmed on social media, writing, "We will always love you so much Sydney."