SAN ANTONIO – Breast Cancer Awareness Month is hitting one San Antonio-area middle school closer to home this year.
Kimberly Poorman, a beloved teacher at Pieper Ranch Middle School, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer this summer while pregnant with twins.
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On Thursday, the school community rallied around the teacher by showing their support in an eight-grade girls “Pink Out” volleyball game.
“We all want her to know that she is not alone in this journey,” said assistant athletic coordinator Mitzi Lancaster, who is a breast cancer survivor.
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Poorman, 33, has completed three rounds of chemotherapy since a tumor was discovered in July, according to the Comal Independent School District.
She is now 34 weeks pregnant with a boy and a girl, and she will go on maternity leave Oct. 25.
“While the eight-year veteran teacher claims that the greatest side effect from her chemo treatment is fatigue, no one would know it since she continues to work every day without a hint of slowing down,” the district states.
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Stronger rounds of chemotherapy will begin after she gives birth, according to the district.
Poorman, already a mother to a four-year-old boy, stressed the importance of annual exams for women of all ages.
“I’m outside all the normal areas for age, heredity and other markers, and yet here I am,” she said.