Cheri Oteri Reveals Breast Cancer Surgery & How Jill Biden Helped Her

Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri just revealed that she underwent surgery for breast cancer — and she had a surprising supporter along the way.

On the June 10 episode of Chelsea Handler‘s Dear Chelsea podcast, Oteri, 63, opened up about Dr. Jill Biden, 75, helping her after the former was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

The Scary Movie star explained that she and the former second lady recently met at the Milken Institute dinner.

“I’m sitting there, quiet, and I’m like, this is so serendipitous,” she told Handler, 51. “And I’m listening to all these women, and then at the end, Jill came up to me. And we were saying goodbye, and I told her that I was just diagnosed, and she said, ‘When is your surgery?’ And I said, ‘The 26th.’”

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Oteri continued, “And 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 actress also pointed out of Biden, “That is a woman with a huge heart, and through everything, she’s like checking on me, and just a beautiful human being. So, I never felt so supported by my friends, my girlfriends.”

Today, Oteri said she feels “great” and that “everything looks normal, fine” after having her second lumpectomy two days before appearing on Dear Chelsea. “That’s my message to everybody, too, is get your mammogram,” she advised. “I caught it really early.”

Additionally, she encouraged those diagnosed with breast cancer to “get a second opinion.” She explained, “The first doctor I went to suggested something way more aggressive.”

Oteri was featured on SNL from 1995 to 2000, and was best known for a character named Nadeen (“Simmah down now!”) as well as her “Spartan Cheerleaders” skits with Will Ferrell. She also memorably

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