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Social media star Sydney Towle died at 26. She helped define a new generation of young cancer influencers.

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Julia Pugachevsky

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Sydney Towle, 26, died on August 5 from a rare, aggressive cancer.

One day later, her brother, Austin Towle, and mother, Elizabeth Morrow, shared a few words to her 1.1 million TikTok followers.

"We thank all of you for your support over the years," Austin Towle said, with Morrow echoing the sentiment.

At 23, Sydney Towle was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer, after seeing a doctor for what she initially thought was a hernia.

For years, Towle documented the ups and downs of her treatments, including her surgeries, scans, chemotherapy, and clinical trials. She also shared her happier moments, from trips with her friends to appreciating a sunny walk. Her videos racked up millions of views; one of the last TikToks posted on her account featured the band Royel Otis dedicating a song to her.

As cancer rates continue to rise among young people, some, like Towle, have taken to social media to share their stories. When Sarah and Sophie Barness were both diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, the sisters took to TikTok to document their experiences.

Sharing details of their diagnoses and treatments online not only helped them spread the word about their symptoms; it also helps them find support and community at an otherwise crushingly lonely and trying period of their lives.

"It felt odd to be nostalgic for a time I should want to forget," Sarah Barness wrote for Business Insider after she went into remission, "but I missed chemo because I had structure, abundant support, and sympathy, both in-person and online."

More young people are getting cancer and looking for community online

The rates of some cancers, including colon and breast cancers, have been steadily climbing in people under 50.

While young people are encouraged to regularly exercise and cut back on ultraprocessed foods to reduce their risk, none of those lifestyle habits can necessarily prevent cancer. Some young cancer patients are fit, eat clean, and have no family history.

Sharing their stories helps them get this simple point across to their followers: no one is truly safe from a cancer diagnosis, so they should always get suspicious symptoms checked out.

Gabby Zappia, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 37 after giving birth to her third child, shared her first symptoms with her 35,800 Instagram followers — emphasizing how blood in her stool, bloating, and fatigue could look like normal parts of pregnancy.

"Please be on the lookout and share with your loved ones," she wrote in her caption.

For young people, the costs of a cancer diagnosis can be uniquely high.

They might be in college or just starting their careers. They may have to put their plans — starting families, buying a home, traveling — on hold indefinitely. And paying for treatment can be an especially heavy burden when juggled with student loans or entry-level salaries.

Like Towle, they aren't just posting their chemo treatments or CT scan updates; they want followers to see how cancer touches all aspects of their lives.

Breeze Hunter was finishing her senior year at Texas A&M when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare cancer, at 22. Nearly 18 million people watched her "MTV Cribs"-style TikTok tour of her hospital room — what she called her "200 square foot mansion."

Hunter previously told Business Insider that connecting with other cancer patients, both online and off, helped her deal with treatments. "It is very hard — we are so young and we're missing out on a lot of young adult things," she said.

Young cancer patients exist in a liminal space in healthcare. Towle gave them a spotlight.

Despite climbing rates of certain cancers, young people still aren't considered the classic cancer demographic. This doesn't just lead to potentially missed or delayed diagnosis due to their ages, but also to misconceptions about their overall treatment experience.

Towle's videos were consistently flooded with comments from people who were impacted by her videos, whether they felt personal solidarity with Towle or appreciated learning more about life with cancer.

"I'm a nurse! Just had a patient with the same cancer like 2-3 weeks ago. None of the other nurses knew anything about the cancer but me! Because of you! Thank you for educating!!" a TikTok user @isabellaelena18 posted.

Overwhelmingly, most commenters were moved by something simpler: Towle's continued exuberance throughout everything.

"Syd will never be forgotten," TikTok user @erindelanty1 posted. "She has taught us so many lessons. Mostly to live each day to its fullest and to be grateful to just BE HERE."

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Julia Pugachevsky

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Julia is a senior health reporter at Business Insider. Julia covers a wide range of topics, including the rise of colon cancer cases among young people, the unique challenges modern parents face, and the growing trend of Gen Zers abstaining from social media. She also writes about fitness, nutrition, longevity, and the routines of highly successful people for Business Insider’s Power Hours series. She’s published interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Serena Williams, Esther Perel, Bill Nye, Naomi Watts, and James Van Der Beek.Julia's work has appeared on the BBC, CBS, Bloomberg Radio, Morning Brew, Fast Company, and the Daily Flash. She has also moderated panel discussions at Nasdaq and Duke University, and appeared on the podcasts Open to Debate, Airtalk, The Evan Bray Show, and The Last Show with David Cooper. Prior to this role, Julia was an education and personal development editor on the Business Insider Reviews team and a sex and relationships editor at Cosmopolitan and BuzzFeed, respectively.You can say hi to Julia at [email protected] and check out more of her work on her website.

• Cancer
• Social Media
• TikTok
• More
• Instagram
• Celebrity