Overview
- Her family announced on her Instagram that she died on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from complications of metastatic colangiocarcinoma.
- Towle first documented her diagnosis and treatment on social media in 2023 and moved to New York in late 2024 to continue care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
- Over three years she underwent surgeries, chemotherapy and clinical trials and her family said she entered palliative care in the days before her death.
- She built an audience of more than one million TikTok followers who sent condolences after her death while some online communities publicly questioned her illness and contacted clinicians and brands.
- Colangiocarcinoma is a rare bile-duct cancer that usually affects older adults, which made Towle’s age notable and turned her openness into a focal point for awareness about young-adult cancer and the harms of online harassment.