Influencer Sydney Towle, age 26, who is currently undergoing treatment for cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, walked the runway at Miami Swim Week on May 28 with three other models, all cancer patients or survivors, representing the post-surgery, scar-friendly swim brand Post Swim in collaboration with the Chemo Club, a community-based cancer support platform for patients, survivors and caregivers.

 

“This Miami Swim Week, the Chemo Club and Post Swim are collaborating on an exclusive capsule collection, celebrating the women who have fought the unimaginable, yet who still show up boldly, beautifully and unapologetically,” wrote Chemo Club founder Alexandra O’Brien Roualdes in an Instagram post announcing the collaboration.

 

“We are doing this because women deserve visibility, survivorship deserves community and women in this space deserve to be seen in a space that typically ignores them,” continued Post Swim founder and breast cancer survivor Lauren Yerkes.

At age 23, Towle was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma. Diagnosed in only 8,000 Americans each year, the average age of people diagnosed with the rare bile duct malignancy is in the 70s, according to the American Cancer Society. Towle walked in the fashion show just days after her oncologist suggested a transition toward end-of-life care, according to her Instagram, a proposition that Towle refused.

 

Towle shared that she’s currently in a clinical trial using tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy. “We are not at the point where we’re giving up,” Towle said on Instagram, adding that she has since changed oncologists and her new doctor cleared her for travel so she could participate in the Miami show.

 

“I’ve struggled a lot with a post-surgical body, especially having this hepatic artery pump placed in my stomach that is very obvious when I’m in a bathing suit,” Towle told People. “Being able to walk for a swimwear brand that is empowering women to embrace those scars...is so empowering, and it makes me feel even more proud to be in the body that I am that has carried me through so much.”

 

Tori Martinez and influencer Jen Taylor, who joined Towle for the Chemo Club x Post Swim show, are currently undergoing treatment for triple-positive breast cancer. When cancer cells have higher levels of receptors for a protein called human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) as well as the hormones estrogen and progesterone, they are considered triple positive. This increases cancer cell growth, influencing treatment options. About 10% of breast cancer diagnoses are triple positive, according to BreastCancer.org.

 

Danielle Gabrielle, the show’s final model, will mark her five-year anniversary of estrogen-positive breast cancer survivorship in fall. Estrogen-positive breast cancer is the most common type, accounting for about 70% of all breast cancer cases in the United States, according to Cleveland Clinic.

 

To learn more, check out Cancer Health’s Breast Cancer Basics.

 

Post Swim and The Chemo Club introduced their models on Instagram following the runway show, with the following caption:

 

“Cancer had never been on a runway, we changed that.

 

Swipe to meet the 4 women who walked our @miamiswimweekshows runway so every woman after them knows, there is a place for you here. Not only at POST SWIM & The Chemo Club, but on a runway, in a swimsuit and in the world of fashion.”

The models wore Chemo Club x Post Swim swimsuits accessorized with treatment resource guides, tote bags, sweatshirts and scarves. Miami Swim Week posted pictures from the show on Instagram with the following caption:

 

“A truly unforgettable runway moment with @thechemoclub @postswimofficial

Celebrating the strength, resilience, and stories of the incredible women who walked with The Chemo Club. Every step was a reminder that representation matters and that beauty shines through every chapter of the journey.”