Maja Odžaklievska: I thought I had cancer after severe hair loss

Macedonian music legend Maja Odžaklievska recently surprised audiences when she appeared on Skopje's main square, but she also opened up about a frightening health scare that shook her several years ago.

Odžaklievska told how, four years ago, she experienced dramatic hair loss and initially feared the worst. She said, "I thought I had a hidden cancer." After visiting doctors and running a full set of tests, she was told that all her parameters were normal.

She described the experience in more detail: "But strands were falling from my head. Imagine, long hair was reduced to pieces. I was sure I had cancer, but they explained that it was most likely the consequence of great stress. When people say that everything comes from the head, it's really like that." Examinations later determined the episode was a psychosomatic reaction to accumulated stress, not a serious illness.

Family, care and a quieter life

A major source of both stress and motivation for Odžaklievska has been her grandson Luka, who lives with autism. She cared for him devotedly for years. Today Luka is entering adulthood and is in an appropriate home with 24-hour care; Odžaklievska has said she and her daughter visit regularly and organise birthdays and special moments for him.

After many personal and professional challenges, the singer chose to leave the bustle of Belgrade and build a life in the countryside. "I am a city child, but in Skopje I grew up in a house with a yard. I always wanted my own house with a garden and that has come true. I love that in the morning I am woken by different birds. Why would I want to hear sirens in the morning?" she said, adding that she now enjoys tending flowers and her garden.

Although she had largely stepped back from the music scene to focus on family and peace, Odžaklievska recently made a notable exception. After a ten-year absence from the Skopje stage, she returned as a special guest for a concert on Macedonia Square marking 35 years of independence, where she performed alongside famed tenor Jose Carreras. Backstage she had an emotional reunion with pop star Karolina Gocheva; a photograph of the two smiling together, posted by Gocheva, quickly circulated on social media. Odžaklievska wore an eye-catching green outfit with handmade jewelry for the evening.

Photo: press material from the event