“Saturday Night Live” alum Cheri Oteri is opening up about a hard time in her life, detailing how she underwent breast cancer surgery and the support she received from a surprising source.
During an episode of the “Dear Chelsea” podcast, Oteri talked about how she met former first lady Jill Biden at the Milken Institute dinner in April following her diagnosis.
“I’m sitting there, quiet, and I’m like, this is so serendipitous,” she explained. “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?’”
She replied that it was on the 26th of April.
“And she said, ‘All right, you’re gonna get tired of me.’ And she says, ‘I’m going through this with you,’ Oteri recalled. “This woman, like, before my surgery, after my surgery, she just, she goes, ‘I am with you on this.’ I was blown away.”
Cheri Oteri Says Jill Biden Is ‘A Woman With A Huge Heart’
Oteri said that Jill has continued to check in on her.
“Through everything, she’s like checking on me, and just a beautiful human being,” Oteri said. “So, I never felt so supported by my friends, my girlfriends.”
The two even met up for coffee while they were both in Los Angeles.
“And so we met at this coffee shop and we just talked for two hours, and she was just, that is a woman with a huge heart, and through everything, she’s like checking on me and just a beautiful human being. I’ve never felt so supported,” Oteri said.
Oteri has DCIS, which is short for ductal carcinoma in situ, and is a non-invasive, stage 0 breast cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s an early form of breast cancer where the cancer cells are confined inside a milk duct in the breast. It has a low risk of spreading or becoming life-threatening.
So with that, she sent a message to all the listeners since she “caught it early to “caught it early” and to “get a second opinion,” adding that her first doctor “suggested something way more aggressive” than what was needed.
Jill Biden Said Joe Biden Will ‘Live with Cancer’ for the Rest of His Live
GettyCancer is a very personal topic for Jill as her husband, former President Joe Biden, was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. The couple shared the news in May 2025, and in a recent Today show appearance, Jill spoke about her husband’s current condition.
“You know, he’s doing OK,” she told co-host Craig Melvin. “Craig, you’ve been through this with your brother; you know how tough it is. And I think if he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, that’s one thing, because that can be cured, but the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that makes it a whole different story.”
“I think Joe will live with cancer till the rest of his life,” she added.
