Sydney Towlewill always be remembered for her candid nature.
Three years after the influencer began documenting her health battlewith cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, she died at 26 years old, her family shared Aug. 6.
“We will always love you so much Sydney,” the caption of an Instagram post shared to her profile read. “I am so proud of how hard you fought. I love you.”
Before her death, Towle entered hospice care, her brother Austin Towle shared in an Aug. 4 TikTok, noting she was “surrounded by her friends and family.”
“Thank you all so much,” he captioned the social media post. “Your love and support does not go unnoticed.”
Indeed, Sydney built a supportive online community over the years, keeping her over 1 millionTikTokfollowers updated on her health struggles.Like in June 2025, when she shared she was being treated with a hepatic pump that would deliver chemotherapy directly to the liver. But even then, she and her doctors were aware of the risks.
“It’s the first time that I’ve gone in and they’ve said, ‘This isn’t good,'” Towle said in aTikTokat the time. “It’s obviously not what you want to hear when you have cancer.”
Still, Towle—who also underwent a clinical trial with tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy—was doing her best to stay optimistic about her chances despite the traumatic experience.
“People always ask why I’m so positive, and it’s like, why would I not envision the best-case scenario, the best way of things working out?” Towle said in aJune 2026 video. “The alternative is to not do that and to just be sad.”
She added, “Ultimately, it’s my life, and if I believe that things will work out and be good, that’s my choice. Even if that doesn’t happen to be true.”
But the TikToker certainly didn’t hide the more difficult parts of her cancer journey—especially how hard it was for her to have been diagnosed with the rare disease at such a young age.
“Watching my friends go out to dinners or just live their lives, while I couldn’t even leave the house some days, was really tough,” she shared withPeoplein May 2025. “With chemo, you don’t feel like yourself—your body changes, you’re tired all the time and everything feels out of sync. I felt like my life was on pause while everyone else’s kept moving.”
For a look back at her life, keep reading…
Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion
Sydney Towle/Instagram
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
