Karen Collins, a nationally known nutritionist and dietitian whose work appears on Nubella, MSNBC.com, and other major Web sites, reports on some sobering news to us lycopene fans.

From the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C., here is her take:

If you look at tomatoes as a delicious way to prevent cancer by getting the compound lycopene, a recent study may have been a shock. Lycopene is widely touted as a protector against cancer in general – and prostate cancer in particular.

The study found that higher blood levels of lycopene were not linked with reduced risk of prostate cancer. This may have you wondering whether your efforts to eat tomatoes are a waste.

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My friend, Cathy, finally got the results back from her biopsy: no cervical cancer! She nearly cried tears of joy. I wanted to join her in the joyfest.

Getting negative results from such a critical test is truly something to behold, especially when you’ve spent a week of pure-T hell waiting and drowning in never-ending, “what-if” soap operas. Been there, done that.

Of course, I didn’t mention that she should find out the accuracy rate of cervix biopsies. In my own research involving my cancer experience, I discovered prostate biopsies can miss tumors about 20 percent of the time.

I’m not going to go into the excruciating detail about how a urologist performs a prostate biopsy. I’ll let you do that, but it involves an ultrasound probe the size of your middle finger, a biopsy gun, a long needle, and your rectum. Now have I stoked  your curiosity?

I will tell you this: yes, you are awake for the procedure. Wide awake.

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