Sydney Towle, content creator who documented life with cancer, dies at
26
[August 07, 2026]
By KAITLYN HUAMANI
Sydney Towle, a social media content creator who projected enduring
optimism as she chronicled her life with a rare form of cancer, has
died, according to her family. She was 26.
Towle was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of
cancer in the bile ducts, in August 2023. Her mother, Elizabeth Morrow,
and brother, Austin Towle, posted a video to her TikTok account
confirming she died Wednesday.
“Syd went peacefully last night after an almost three-year long battle
with cholangiocarcinoma,” her brother said. “She fought really hard, and
we’re so proud of her, and we thank all of you for your support over the
years.” Towle's mother said they appreciated the messages of support and
that “she will not be forgotten.”
Her family described her as “an endless ray of sunshine” and a friend to
many. Sydney Elizabeth Towle was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on
Nov. 15, 1999, and grew up in Hobe Sound, Florida, according to the New
York Times. The newspaper reported that she died at the National
Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
At the time of her diagnosis, Towle already had a presence on social
media where she shared videos from her everyday life. She often posted
from the beach and loved the outdoors. She was an avid surfer and
runner.
Once she received the diagnosis at age 23, she began posting her
unvarnished reality of the disease and treatment while holding fast to
her hobbies, style and positive attitude. She had over 1 million
followers on TikTok alone.
In a video posted days after she was diagnosed, Towle said, “I’m in good
spirits, I’m smiling. If anything, it just makes me appreciate life
more.” That essentially became the ethos that guided her online
presence, where she shared videos of herself running, going out with
friends and traveling alongside videos from a hospital bed or at
chemotherapy appointments.
[to top of second column]
|
This undated photo provided by Elizabeth Morrow on Thursday, Aug. 6,
2026, shows Sydney Towle smiling for a photo. (Elizabeth Morrow via
AP)
 In a column this year advocating for
increased funding for research of the rare disease, Towle’s mother
wrote that she had seen her daughter become “a beacon of hope for so
many” through her candid online presence. “Thousands of people send
her messages, stop her on the street and leave comments on her
videos, describing how her vulnerability has helped them through
their own struggles,” Morrow wrote in February.
Towle graduated from Dartmouth College in 2022, where she studied
government and environmental studies. She worked as a social media
manager at Epic Games.
She had posted on her LinkedIn account about plans to run the 2026
New York City Marathon in November to raise money for the
Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. She had raised more than $10,000 for
the nonprofit that advocates for research and provides patients and
caregivers with resources.
“I know it might seem crazy to try to run a marathon with everything
going on,” she wrote on the platform months ago. But she noted the
importance of hope in her experience with the disease. “Hope keeps
us alive, it keeps us going, it makes the impossible seem possible.”
Towle is survived by her mother and brother. Her father, Philip
Towle, died in 2016.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
