#SydneyTowle has died at 26 after living with an aggressive form of cancer. The news was announced on Towle’s social media pages of Thursday, Aug. 6, one day after her reported death. “We will always love you so much Sydney,” the caption reads. “I am so proud of how hard you fought. I love you.” Read more at the link above.

Cancer doesn't start as a lump. It starts with a single line of DNA going off script. 🔬 Cancer is what happens when abnormal cells grow out of control, and it begins deep inside the cell. Your DNA holds the genes that code for everything a cell does, including two critical instructions: when to divide, and when to undergo apoptosis (controlled, programmed cell death). Normally these are tightly regulated. But when certain genes mutate, that order breaks down and cells start dividing unchecked.

l've been quiet for a few months. This is why. In May, I found a lump in my neck. No pain, no symptoms, I felt completely fine. It turned out to be stage 4 bowel cancer, already in my liver, my abdomen and my chest. Since then: emergency surgery, an ileostomy, four procedures to unblock my bile ducts, sepsis, and five weeks in a hospital bed. Genetic testing has now found a mutation in my tumour called BRAF V600E. It's aggressive, and it resists standard chemotherapy. But there's a targeted trea