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For the past three years, TikTok creator Sydney Towle has been documenting her battle with a rare bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma, spreading her message of living life to the fullest to her hundreds of thousands of followers in the process. But on Thursday, her family had heartbreaking news to share: Sydney has died at 26 just weeks after entering a clinical trial that she had hoped would be the miracle she’d been searching for.
Sydney has been sharing her experience since she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2023.
@sydtowle ❤️
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After Sydney discovered a lump in her abdomen, she learned that it was actually a mass in her liver that led to her cancer diagnosis in August 2023. Over the past three years, Sydney underwent multiple surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, and clinical trials to help prolong her life, but cholangiocarcinoma is a deadly cancer with no known cure; according to the Mayo Clinic, the five year survival rate for those who have been diagnosed is less than 10%.
In May, Sydney and her mom shared in a video that her cancer had spread, and her oncologist told her that she could no longer be treated and that she should consider end-of-life care. At the time, Sydney still wanted to keep fighting, and in early July, she entered a clinical trial at the National Institute of Health that she’d hoped would save her life.
Through it all, Sydney managed to amass over 1 million followers on TikTok as she shared not just her cancer journey but also her adventures and travel along the way, living her life to the fullest when she felt her best.
Her brother, Austin, shared that she had entered hospice.
Sydney’s TikTok posts began to slow down after she began the trial last month, and her brother, Austin, occasionally shared updates on how she was doing. On Tuesday, he shared the one that her followers had hoped they’d never see: Sydney had transitioned to hospice.
“Sydney has been moved to hospice and is surrounded by her friends and family,” Austin wrote, sharing a photo of his sister’s loved ones gathered around her hospital bed. “Thank you for all your love and support.”
Sydney died on August 5.
Less than 48 hours later, Sydney’s family returned to her social media accounts with another update, sharing the news that she had died.
“We will always love you so much Sydney. I am so proud of how hard you fought. I love you,” her brother wrote in the caption of the post that appeared on her Instagram account, sharing the news.
Though Sydney was always real about the ups and downs that came with her cancer diagnosis at such a young age, she was also known for staying optimistic through it all. She spread a simple message with her catchphrase: “happy to be here.”
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