Influencer Sydney Towle has entered hospice care following a nearly three-year battle with a rare form of bile duct cancer.
The 26-year-old content creator’s brother, Austin Towle, shared the heartbreaking update on TikTok on Tuesday, August 4.
He posted a photograph showing Sydney surrounded by family members and friends at her hospital bed.
“Sydney has been moved to hospice and is surrounded by her friends and family,” text over the image read. “Thank you all for your love and support.”
Austin expressed his gratitude again in the caption.
“Thank you all so much,” he wrote. “Your love and support does not go unnoticed.”
Sydney has documented much of her cancer journey for more than 1.1 million followers on TikTok since she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma approximately three years ago.
Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare cancer that develops in the bile ducts.
In recent months, Sydney had been preparing for the next stage of a clinical trial involving tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, also known as TIL therapy.
She regularly posted updates from the hospital and expected to remain there for several weeks while undergoing the experimental treatment.
Despite her worsening condition, Sydney continued to speak openly about maintaining hope and choosing to imagine the best possible outcome.
“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?” she said in a recent TikTok video.
“The alternative is to not do that and to just be sad.”
Sydney also admitted that comments speculating about how much time she had left could be painful to read.
“I won’t lie, the comments sometimes really get to me when I see them saying like, ‘She has days left,’ or just sad things like that,” she said. “It’s hard to read stuff like that about yourself.”
Still, she refused to allow those messages to destroy her hope.
“Why would I let that ruin my optimism or my hope?” Sydney said. “Because ultimately, it’s my life, and if I believe that things will work out and be good, that’s my choice, even if that doesn’t happen to be true.”
She repeatedly encouraged her followers not to give up.
“Miracles happen every day,” Sydney said. “Nobody knows for sure what’s gonna happen.”
The hospice update comes just weeks after Sydney continued pursuing the clinical trial despite revealing that doctors had found tumors in her lungs.
Earlier this year, she also appeared on the runway during Miami Swim Week in a fashion show featuring swimwear created for people whose bodies had been affected by cancer.
Sydney received permission from a new specialist to travel for the event.
She previously revealed that she sought a second medical opinion after an oncologist advised her to begin end-of-life care.
Rather than immediately accepting that recommendation, Sydney chose to continue searching for additional treatment options.
Her family’s latest announcement has prompted an outpouring of support from followers who have watched her face the disease with extraordinary honesty, determination and optimism.