SUGAR LAND - The very word “cancer” conjures up fear in people, but few know the whole story of the disease.

Siva Somasundaram

The University of Houston-Victoria is taking steps to help relieve that ignorance by hosting “Inside Cancer,” an all-day workshop for educators scheduled for March 26 at the University of Houston System at Sugar Land.

“During the workshop, we will cover the entire story of cancer,” said Siva Somasundaram, a cancer researcher and associate professor of biology at UHV, which provides many of the programs at UHS at Sugar Land.

That includes historical accounts of the disease, how normal cells become cancer cells, what causes cancer and the latest methods and technology for fighting the disease, he said.

The workshop will use multimedia materials developed by the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health, including video interviews with some of the top cancer researchers in the world.

“The goal of this workshop will be to teach the attendees to use this material to create their own lessons to teach others what they’ve learned,” Somasundaram said.

The materials are available through a Web site, www.insidecancer.org, and can be used by teachers for lesson plans, community educators for public presentations and anyone else for raising awareness about cancer and the efforts to fight it.

The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. in Room 306 of the Albert and Mamie George Building, 14000 University Blvd.

The event is free, but attendees are asked to register because of limited space. To register, e-mail Alexis Brooks at brooks@uhv.edu. For more information about the seminar, contact Somasundaram at 281-275-8808 or somasundarams@uhv.edu.