Sydney Towle had already thought about what she would tell her followers if she were making one final video.
During a podcast interview recorded months before her death, the 26-year-old creator said she would ask people to approach others with kindness, compassion and empathy because it is impossible to know what someone else may be facing.
Towle died on August 5th after living for nearly three years with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of bile duct cancer. Her family announced her death the following day.
Her comments have resurfaced since the announcement, but they were not recorded as a planned farewell. Towle was answering a hypothetical question during a November 2025 interview about the lessons she had learned while living with cancer.
Her Answer Focused on Kindness
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Towle discussed the subject during a November 20th, 2025, appearance on Danielle Robay’s Question Everything podcast. Robay asked what Towle would say if she could make only one more video.
“Well, what I would want to tell people, I think, I’ve actually thought about this before,” Towle said, according to PEOPLE. Towle said her message would be simple “treat people with kindness.”
She expanded on the idea by encouraging compassion and empathy, explaining that people rarely know the full circumstances someone else is experiencing. “I feel like we never know what someone is going through,” she said. Towle added that even a small amount of kindness or positivity could change another person’s day or week.
The Interview Was Not a Recorded Farewell
The comments have taken on additional significance following Towle’s death, but the interview was recorded approximately eight months earlier and was not created as a posthumous message. The episode, titled “Too Young for Cancer: Sydney Towle on Fighting for Her Life at 25,” was released on November 20th, 2025.
Towle spoke broadly about receiving a stage 4 cancer diagnosis at 23, living with ongoing treatment, friendships, dating, fertility preservation and the way her illness changed her views about life.
She also discussed the hostility she encountered after sharing her diagnosis online, including accusations from strangers that she was faking her illness.
Her Family Announced Her Death One Day Later
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Towle’s family announced on August 6th that she had died the previous day. “We will always love you so much, Sydney,” the family wrote. “I am so proud of how hard you fought. I love you.”
The accompanying image described Sydney Elizabeth Towle as an “endless ray of sunshine” and “a daughter, a sister and friend to so many.” According to The Guardian, Towle was diagnosed in 2023 after abdominal discomfort and a noticeable bulge led to further testing.
She was 23 at the time and had recently graduated from Dartmouth College. Towle went on to document chemotherapy, surgeries, clinical trials and changes in her condition while continuing to post about travel, fashion and everyday life. Earlier in the week of her death, her family disclosed that she had entered hospice care.
Towle Turned Her Platform Into Cancer Advocacy
Towle also used her growing audience to raise money and awareness for people affected by cholangiocarcinoma. The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation named her a Community Champion on July 13th, less than a month before her death.
The organization credited Towle with encouraging patients to ask questions, explore treatment options, seek additional medical opinions and advocate for themselves. She had planned to participate with Team CCF in the 2026 New York City Marathon and personally raised more than $10,218 toward the effort.
Towle also partnered with Little Words Project on a bracelet carrying the phrase “Happy To Be Here.” The foundation said 6,927 bracelets were sold across three sales events, generating $34,635 for the organization.