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Celebrity Deaths 2026: Catherine O’Hara, Eric Dane & More Fallen Stars
Sydney Towle will always be remembered for her candid nature.
Three years after the influencer began documenting her health battle with 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 million TikTok followers 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 a TikTok at 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 a June 2026 video. “The alternative is to not do that and to just be sad.”
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 withPeople in 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
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 with People in 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...
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
Cancer’s Ass-Kicker
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.”
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