Sports Broadcaster, 46, Tearfully Reveals Lung Cancer Diagnosis on Air After Her Sister Died of the Same Disease

A longtime TV host revealed on air that she was diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer, despite having never smoked before.

Mel McLaughlin, a 46-year-old sports broadcaster from Australia, tearfully made the health admission during a segment on Channel 7 with her colleagues, sharing the reason for her recent absence from work.

“I was diagnosed with lung cancer in December. So that led to surgery. I had half my lung cut out,” she said. “It’s just very traumatic. It’s very triggering. It’s a lot of emotions.”

McLaughlin said it was even more difficult coming to terms with her diagnosis and breaking the news to her family because her older sister Tara died in 2015 at age 39 from the same disease. Neither of them were smokers.

“You don’t want to worry anyone,” she said. “In our family lung cancer meant death. We had one example and we lost her.”

McLaughlin underwent surgery in January at Sydney’s North Shore Private Hospital to remove the tumor and half of her lung. She admitted that it was daunting being treated in the same hospital and ICU where she witnessed her sister suffer from the disease.

“I cried and then I laughed because it’s like, is this a joke?” she said.

It’s been weeks since her surgery and McLaughlin said her recovery has been “slow but good.” She recognized that she’s lucky because her disease was caught early, unlike her sister’s.

“I think that was my big sister. Maybe I got lucky. I don’t know. I definitely think she’s with me,” she said. “That’s what they do, big sisters.”

McLaughlin said she hopes to be back on air to host the Commonwealth Games in July. In the meantime, she is finding comfort in sharing her story and raising awareness about lung cancer.

“The reason that I wanted to [speak now] is not to talk about me. It’s awareness,” she explained. “It’s the biggest cancer killer in the country. It’s got a terrible stigma. I feel like I owe it to my sister. I owe it to people that maybe could get something out of this. Smoker, non-smoker – no one deserves lung cancer.”

Lung cancer is the overall leading cause of cancer deaths across the nation. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 229,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in 2025, and nearly 125,000 people will die from the disease.

A longtime TV host revealed on air that she was diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer, despite having never smoked before.

Mel McLaughlin, a 46-year-old sports broadcaster from Australia, tearfully made the health admission during a segment on Channel 7 with her colleagues, sharing the reason for her recent absence from work.

“I was diagnosed with lung cancer in December. So that led to surgery. I had half my lung cut out,” she said. “It’s just very traumatic. It’s very triggering. It’s a lot of emotions.”

McLaughlin said it was even more difficult coming to terms with her diagnosis and breaking the news to her family because her older sister Tara died in 2015 at age 39 from the same disease. Neither of them were smokers.

“You don’t want to worry anyone,” she said. “In our family lung cancer meant death. We had one example and we lost her.”

McLaughlin underwent surgery in January at Sydney’s North Shore Private Hospital to remove the tumor and half of her lung. She admitted that it was daunting being treated in the same hospital and ICU where she witnessed her sister suffer from the disease.

“I cried and then I laughed because it’s like, is this a joke?” she said.

It’s been weeks since her surgery and McLaughlin said her recovery has been “slow but good.” She recognized that she’s lucky because her disease was caught early, unlike her sister’s.

“I think that was my big sister. Maybe I got lucky. I don’t know. I definitely think she’s with me,” she said. “That’s what they do, big sisters.”

McLaughlin said she hopes to be back on air to host the Commonwealth Games in July. In the meantime, she is finding comfort in sharing her story and raising awareness about lung cancer.

“The reason that I wanted to [speak now] is not to talk about me. It’s awareness,” she explained. “It’s the biggest cancer killer in the country. It’s got a terrible stigma. I feel like I owe it to my sister. I owe it to people that maybe could get something out of this. Smoker, non-smoker – no one deserves lung cancer.”

Lung cancer is the overall leading cause of cancer deaths across the nation. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 229,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in 2025, and nearly 125,000 people will die from the disease.