Jenna Fischer said her friend, actor Christina Applegate, had a "salty" reaction to Fischer's cancer diagnosis.
Fischer, who starred in "The Office," revealed in an Instagram post her private battle with "aggressive" breast cancer. Applegate was among the first of her friends to hear the news, Fischer said on "Today."
"I called her, and she answered the phone, and she said, 'Which one is it?' And I said, 'It's breast cancer.' And she said, 'I effing knew it,'" Fischer said. "She's salty. Salty language, that one. I love her for it."
Fischer first announced her diagnosis on Instagram this month, noting that after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation she is now cancer-free.
"I never thought I'd be making an announcement like this but here we are," she wrote in the post, which detailed her diagnosis that began last October with a routine mammogram.
After initial tests gave unclear results, an ultrasound found a mass in her left breast, leading to a diagnosis of stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December. Fischer called her cancer "aggressive" but said it was highly treatable. She had a lumpectomy in January to remove some breast tissue.
Even though the cancer hadn't spread, she chose to begin chemotherapy in February, followed by radiation in June. To prevent it from recurring, she also started receiving Herceptin infusions and taking Tamoxifen daily.
"I'm happy to say I'm feeling great," Fischer wrote.
Fischer opted to keep her battle private, using "great wigs and hats with hair" to avoid sounding alarm bells. She chose to speak out now to create awareness and to "implore" others to have mammograms.
"I'm serious, call your doctor right now," she said. "My tumor was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread. ... Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done."