Towle was first diagnosed with bile duct cancer at 23
Credit: Sydney Towle/TikTok (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Sydney Towle has big plans for 2026
- The content creator, who was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, at the age of 23, announced on Tuesday that she would be running the 2026 New York City marathon
- In the caption of her TikTok post announcing the news, Towle called the update a “dream come true”
At 23, Sydney Towle was out on a run when she first noticed a large bump protruding from her abdomen.
While asymptomatic at first, Towle began experiencing burning sensations in her stomach during exercise, and out of caution, visited an urgent care clinic where an ultrasound was ordered.
It revealed a solid mass, and a later MRI showed multiple masses in her liver and bile duct. Just a short while later, Towle was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, a rare and aggressive cancer that typically affects adults over the age of 50 — making Towle, then in her early 20s, an anomaly.
Now, just three years later, after a run that first caused Towle to look into her health, the influencer is returning to running in a big, big way.
Credit: Sydney Towle/TikTok
On March 24, the content creator, who now boasts over 900,000 followers on TikTok and 138,000 on Instagram, took to her TikTok page to announce that she planned to run the New York City Marathon with the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation in November.
"Dream come true," Towle wrote in her caption.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Towle adds that the marathon is something she feels will "give her hope" as she continues to face her journey with stage 4 cancer.
"The goal isn't to win or even run the whole thing, but to fundraise and continue to raise awareness for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, while giving me something to work towards," she says.
@sydtowle The universe 😉 me 🎢
♬ original sound – syd
In a follow-up video, Towle also addressed some of the comments she had gotten from followers, expressing their worry that maybe now isn't the right time for her to undertake such a big endeavor.
"Unfortunately, what I have to say that to that is that it will never be the right time," she said. "I have tried to run a marathon in the past few years, and every year I've ended up getting surgery."
Her hope in running the marathon is more to raise awareness and funding, rather than to win it or even finish at all.
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Towle also reflected on advice that her later friend, a fellow marathon runner and a fellow cancer patient, had given her.
"He would always text me, 'Nothing is impossible when you're running with hope,'" she said. "He said that to me all the time, and that is what I'm keeping with me."
Towle then said that she would be working alongside her oncologist and medical team to ensure that her training would be medically sound and approved for her health.
Recently, Towle has shared some less positive updates on her health. In a March 4 TikTok video, the content creator posted an emotional update after opening the latest report on her cholangiocarcinoma. Towle, now 26, prefaced her video by saying she had a "bad feeling" about the scans but was hoping that it was only anxiety.
Unfortunately, however, she revealed that "everything has increased in size." Speaking through tears, Towle further explained, "All the tumors in my liver have grown. Some of the lymph nodes have grown. It also says that my spleen is increased in size, and I now have ascites."
In a statement issued to PEOPLE, Towle added, "Despite how hard the news is in the moment, I am still very hopeful given how many options continue to become available for those of us facing this and similar diseases."
However, Towle has resolved to keep going and trying new experiences – even sharing in her more recent March 24 video, that she'll be heading out to Coachella later this spring, something she calls a bucket list item for her.
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