TikTok star Sydney Towle, who shared her cancer journey online, dies aged 26
Popular TikTok influencer Sydney Towle has passed away at age 26 following a three-year battle with bile duct cancer. Towle was widely recognized for her candid documentation of her chemotherapy journey and her advocacy for rare cancer awareness.
Why it matters
Her death highlights the impact of social media influencers in humanizing chronic illness and the growing community support for rare disease awareness.
Image source, Getty Images for Miami Swim Week: The Shows Image caption, Towle recently fulfilled her dream of modelling at Miami Swim Week
Sydney Towle, a popular social media influencer who shared her experience living with a rare, aggressive form of cancer, has died at the age of 26.
Towle's family announced her death, from complications related to bile duct cancer that had spread to other parts of her body, on her social media accounts on Thursday.
"Syd went peacefully last night after an almost three-year-long battle with cholangiocarcinoma," her brother Austin said in a video message, alongside their mother, on TikTok.
Towle, who was moved to hospice care earlier this week, had over a million followers on TikTok and over 200,000 on Instagram.
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