‘Extremely overwhelmed’: Channel 7 star’s update amid cancer fight
As Mel McLaughlin returned to screens, she revealed what really went on behind the scenes.
Channel 7 star Mel McLaughlin has shared an update with fans, after she returned to screens for the first time since her shock stage 2 lung cancer diagnosis.
The beloved sports presenter had been notably absent from broadcast for several months before she shared the news, in March, that she had been quietly undergoing treatment for the same cancer that took the life of her older sister, Tara, aged just 39.
Returning to the network’s Eveleigh headquarters on April 13 – after recovering from surgery to have half her lung removed – Mel, 46, shared a rare insight into how she was feeling.
“First day back. Remembered how to read and didn’t run out of breath – I’ll take that for now,” the star wrote on Instagram.
“My wonderful, beautiful, dysfunctional work family held my hand and dealt with my nerves and anxiety. Poor kids having to put up with me!
“It’s a start. Extremely overwhelmed and touched by all of the messages, and sharing of so many of your own stories, thank you doesn’t quite seem enough but it’s very much appreciated,” she concluded.
Mel – a lifelong non-smoker – revealed details about her shock health battle in an interview with Mark Ferguson on Seven News on March 11.
In the segment, she described her diagnosis as “very traumatic” and “very triggering”.
Her journey is particularly harrowing, given that her sister Tara, a mum of two, lost her life in 2015 to the same cruel disease.
“In our family, lung cancer meant death,” Mel explained. “We have one example and we lost her.”
Mel told her colleague that she felt her sister was “with” her, and said maybe she “got lucky” in receiving the diagnosis when she did.
Tara, a police officer, had also never smoked when she was diagnosed with cancer, and it is understood the cancer was due to a genetic mutation.
“I find it very hard to talk about,” Mel previously told News Corp. “The cancer she had has such a disgusting rate of death.”
In an interview with Australian Women’s Weekly, Mel shared how every day was “hard” following her sister’s passing.
“There’s literally not a day where she’s not in our hearts and thoughts,” the star told the magazine.
In a separate interview with The Morning Show, Mel told how her sister inspired her in life.
“Anyone who knew her knew just what a spectacular human being she was and we see her spirit through her children every day,” she said.
“We all try to live I guess, with her in mind and anyone who’s going through that grieving process you never really get over it.
“She guides a lot of my decisions and obviously always in my thoughts and so she’s why want to do more to really for the Lung Foundation, because her story, she died at 39 which is ridiculous, never smoked and there’s a lot of research still to be done.”
