Cheri Oteri is revealing for the first time that she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, opening up about her treatment, the importance of early detection, and the unexpected support she received during her journey.

The former “Saturday Night Live” star revealed on a recent episode of Chelsea Handler’s Dear Chelsea podcast that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a Stage 0, non-invasive form of breast cancer in which abnormal cells are confined to a milk duct. While DCIS has a low risk of spreading, it typically requires surgery and, in some cases, radiation or hormone therapy.

Oteri said the diagnosis came just before she attended a women’s health event hosted by the Milken Institute in April, where she found herself surrounded by influential women discussing medical research and healthcare.

“And I’m just listening and listening to everybody speak,” Oteri recalled. “It was the weirdest thing ’cause I was just diagnosed with DCIS, with breast cancer.”

“I’m sitting there, quiet, and I’m like, this is so serendipitous,” she added.

As the evening came to a close, Oteri told Biden about her diagnosis and mentioned that her surgery was scheduled for April 26.

“And she said, ‘When is your surgery?’ And I said, ‘The 26th,'” Oteri recalled. “She said, ‘All right, you’re gonna get tired of me.’ And she says, ‘I’m going through this with you.’ This woman, like, before my surgery, after my surgery, she just… she goes, ‘I am with you on this.’ I was blown away.”

The friendship continued long after the dinner. Oteri said the two later met for coffee in Los Angeles and spent nearly two hours talking.

“That is a woman with a huge heart,” Oteri said. “Through everything, she’s like checking on me and just a beautiful human being. I’ve never felt so supported.”

She laughed while recalling Biden’s frequent check-ins.

“She goes, ‘You’re gonna get sick of me texting you,’ and I’m like, ‘Seriously, Jill, knock it off.'”

Oteri also shared that she tried reassuring Biden that everything would be okay because her cancer had been caught early and she wasn’t experiencing any pain. Biden responded by noting that former President Joe Biden “wasn’t in any pain either,” referring to his aggressive cancer diagnosis.

“All right, I’m scared now! Are you happy?” Oteri joked.

Despite the frightening diagnosis, Oteri said she’s doing well. She explained that she needed a second lumpectomy after doctors discovered not all of the cancer had been removed during her first surgery. Even so, she told Handler she feels “great” and that “everything looks normal, fine.” She even joked that she never needed the prescription pain medication she was given after surgery, prompting Handler to quip, “Well, you can give that stuff to me.”

Looking back, Oteri said she’s thankful the cancer was detected early. She encouraged women to stay current on their mammograms and urged anyone facing a similar diagnosis to seek a second opinion, explaining that her first doctor recommended treatment she later learned was unnecessarily “aggressive.”

Earlier this year, Oteri shared photos from the Milken Institute event on Instagram, calling it “an incredible dinner” with Biden and praising the discussions surrounding women’s health research.

Oteri’s experience is a reminder that even in life’s most difficult moments, compassion can come from unexpected places. Her openness about early detection, wise medical decision-making, and the encouragement she received from others may inspire women to take their own health seriously and lean on the people God places around them during challenging seasons.