Network Seven sport presenter Mel McLaughlin has explained the reason for her months of absence from television.

The popular media personality revealed she had half of one lung removed after being diagnosed with lung cancer in December.

It was the same disease that claimed the life of her older sister Tara, a mum of two, a decade ago.

McLaughlin shared her story on Seven News on Wednesday night, telling host Mark Ferguson that she wanted to spread awareness of the disease, which is statistically the deadliest cancer in Australia.

McLaughlin had not been seen on broadcasts since the Boxing Day cricket Test in December.

Despite viewers repeatedly asking, ‘Where is Mel?’, her story had remained a secret.

McLaughlin, who has never been a smoker, told Ferguson her diagnosis was “very traumatic, very triggering”.

“In our family, lung cancer meant death. We have one example, and we lost her,” she said.

“A lot of emotions and also you don’t want to worry anyone.”

McLaughlin returned to the same ward where she lost her sister to the disease.

“I cried and then I laughed because, is someone having, is this a joke,” she said.

Unlike her older sibling, however, McLaughlin’s cancer was caught early.

“Maybe that was my sister. I definitely think she was with me. That’s what they do. Big sisters and big brothers, look out for you,” she told Ferguson.

Her surgeon Dr Levi Bassin, from North Shore Private Hospital, said doctors suspected her cancer was triggered by a genetic mutation, but a different mutation to her sister.

“What was different? Mel’s tumour was detected early. Tara’s was sadly too late and at a stage where surgery couldn’t be relied on to save her life.”

McLaughlin revealed that she delayed her surgery until after the fourth and fifth Ashes Test matches and had been quietly recovering since.

“I often look back and wonder, ‘What was I thinking?’ The intention was good; I know it probably is a bit crazy,” she said.

She is already making plans for the future, and wants to be back at work for the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup. No date has yet been set for her return.