A young woman who is living with aggressive bile duct cancer shared an emotional Christmas video message from the hospital.
Sydney Towle, from California, has been documenting her journey with the disease since she was diagnosed in August 2023 aged just 23.
In a video posted on Christmas Eve, Sydney, now 24, got emotional over something that she heard while receiving chemo-immunotherapy.
'Being at chemo and hearing someone ring the bell knowing that they and their family are getting the best Christmas present ever,' she wrote in the clip.
The short video showed her sitting in a brown hospital chair for her treatment, as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Sydney's followers were quick to rally around her with heartfelt messages of support.
Taking to the comments, one user said: 'And you will ring that bell girl.'
Echoing a similar sentiment, another penned: 'Can't wait until you get to ring that bell.'
A woman fighting aggressive bile duct cancer, named Sydney Towle, shared an emotional Christmas video message from the hospital
She fought back tears while receiving treatment after she heard a fellow patient ring the bell
Sydney has almost 700,000 followers on TikTok where she documents her health journey
'It may not mean much coming from a stranger, but it is so incredible that you can still find happiness for other people after everything you've been through with this,' a third added.
'You're such an empathetic sweet girl,' said a fourth. 'Can't wait for your turn at that bell.'
A fifth added: 'It will happen to you sweetheart it will! It's a mother's intuition. I truly feel you're gonna be OK. You got this.'
Sydney has spent the week receiving chemo-immunotherapy - a cancer treatment that combines chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat cancer - for the first time.
'I'm very grateful to be with my family, but I am feeling very, very sick,' she said in another recent TikTok.
'I'm very nauseous and very tired, so I'm just falling asleep on and off in a dark room until I feel better.
'Sometimes all you can do is sleep it off, but nevertheless I'm very happy to be here.'
Bile duct cancer, also known as cholangiocarcinoma, is an aggressive type of cancer that starts in the bile ducts.
Sydney has spent the week receiving chemo-immunotherapy - a cancer treatment that combines chemotherapy and immunotherapy
She admitted that she was feeling nauseous and tired following the treatments
Sydney was first diagnosed with bile duct cancer in August 2023
It can affect people of different ages, but it is more commonly diagnosed in adults over the age of 50.
Sydney was diagnosed with the disease after doctors discovered a 'sizable mass' in her stomach that had been growing for four months.
'I'm typically an active person but suddenly I started feeling short of breath, and this strange burning sensation took hold in my tummy,' she previously told DailyMail.com.
The young woman admitted that she had initially overlooked her symptoms and urged others not to skip their regular health checkups.
'After ignoring my symptoms, I finally decided to go to the doctor. They did an ultrasound, then an MRI and a biopsy,' Sydney explained.
'When I received those initial MRI results, and they pointed to a solid mass in my liver, I just knew it was cancer.
'I immediately called my family, tears streaming down my face. It took me quite a while to fully grasp the reality of my diagnosis.'
Sydney, whose tumor arose from a genetic mutation, admitted that the most challenging aspect of her journey has been dealing with the unknown.
'It's tough for me to plan for the future at all or expect anything when everything is so fragile around my diagnosis and treatment,' she said.
'It's also really hard to plan in the short term, such as dinners or going out with friends, when I don't know how I'll feel physically or emotionally on a given day.
