Health, heritage & cancer at 33: Monica’s story

In this raw and deeply personal episode of Balkan Sis, I sit down with Monica Ackermann, a 33-year-old Croatian-Australian woman living in Split, Croatia — currently navigating life with stage 4 colon cancer.

This conversation is close to my heart. After my nephew Luka’s leukemia diagnosis, cancer has become more than a word — it’s real, it’s close, and it’s affecting so many young people in our communities.

Monica and I talk about everything:

• The early symptoms that were dismissed and misdiagnosed

• What it’s like being a young woman trying to be heard in a medical system that often doesn’t listen

• Why she chose to stay in Croatia for treatment — and what that experience has been like

• The healing power of her rescue dog, Duje

• The emotional, financial, and identity toll of long-term illness

• Why cancer is showing up more in our generation — and what could be behind it

• Her message for people who think “this would never happen to me”

• And the unexpected gifts, silver linings, and shifts that come from facing something this big

  
  

This episode is about more than illness — it’s about truth-telling, cultural silence, self-advocacy, and choosing life again and again, even when it’s hard.

📲 CONNECT WITH MONICA

TikTok: @monack92

Instagram: @mon_ack

🎥 WATCH HER FULL STORY

YouTube: Young and Diagnosed with Colon Cancer — The Patient Story

🎧 Listen to Balkan Sis on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube

📸 Follow me on Instagram: @ivanastrbacalfonso