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Influencer Sydney Towle Dead at 26 After Rare Cancer Battle
Austin Towle is remembering his sister Sydney Towle.
After the Towle family shared that Sydney, a lifestyle influencer who was diagnosed with bile duct cancer at age 23, died from the rare disease at age 26, Austin opened up about the last moments of Sydney's life.
"She didn’t get sad. She was very at peace. She was like, 'OK, I understand,'" Austin told People Aug. 6 after the family announced the heartbreaking news. "I think she had just been so exhausted up to that point that it is what it is."
Two days before her passing, Austin updated Sydney's million-plus TikTok followers that the social media star had been "moved to hospice and is surrounded by her friends and family." Though she promoted positivity through every stage of her health, Sydney said that her cholangiocarcinoma, which spreads in the tubes of the digestive system per the Mayo Clinic, had progressed in May.
"[During] the last few days, she was alive, but she was pretty comatose," Austin told the outlet of her final care. "But we were surrounding her and telling her a bunch of stories, and I was like, 'How many people can say they were battling stage four cancer while they were walking down the runway?' She was awesome."
Indeed, Sydney's remarkable journey included Miami Swim Week 2026, where she modeled clothing designed for cancer survivors in the Post Swim x Chemo Club collab runway show. At the time, Sydney was participating in a clinical trial for tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.
Austin Towle/TikTok
"She just kept fighting. So I want people to know that it’s never over until it’s over," Austin remarked. "Don’t give up hope, no matter what. She never did. Not literally until she physically, mentally, emotionally—everything—couldn’t anymore."
Though Sydney had planned for their family home to be her final resting place, it was ultimately determined that end-of-life care was the best option for "making her comfortable."
As Austin explained, "It was so far along that there was no choice but to go to hospice.”
Sydney Towle/Instagram
Dartmouth Bound
Sydney 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/Instagram
College Community
The 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/Instagram
Oh, the Places She’ll Go
The 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/Instagram
Beach Babes
Shortly 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/Instagram
The 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/Instagram
Round Two
One 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 Fashion
Beautiful Businesswoman
The 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/Instagram
Mirror Selfies and Mindset
Towle 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/Instagram
Coachella Queen
The 26-year-old attended the Coachella Music Festival with her besties in April 2026 and noted, “It just keeps getting better!”
Sydney Towle/Instagram
Determined Fighter
Towle 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 Shows
Swimming Toward Her Legacy
Months 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/TikTok
Hospice Care
In 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.”
In Memoriam
Towle passed away on August 5, her family confirmed on social media, writing, "We will always love you so much Sydney."
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