Finally!  For 33 of the last 38 days, I’ve had some additional plumbing coming out of my body.  The surgeon pulled the last drain out of me this afternoon.  Woo-freakin’-hoo!  This will be such a relief.  Now, let’s just keep our fingers crossed that the fluid doesn’t build up again now that the drain is out.

He wanted me to return in a month for a routine follow-up exam.

While there, I did specifically ask him whether or not the undetectable PSA level meant cancer-free, and he said yes.  I also asked about the chance of recurrence.  Given the particulars of my case, he said there’s an 80% chance that I’ll be cancer-free at the 10 year point.  That wasn’t necessarily a surprise to me; I had read the long-term statistics in my research.

Of course, that means there will be a little cloud hovering over me for the rest of my life, but I don’t plan on letting it rain on my parade.  It’s just something that will always be there.

Finally, the surgeon also gave me the green light to return to work next week.

Before heading to the doctor, I had lunch with a friend from work at one of the local watering holes.  (And, yes, I skipped their home-brewed beer.)  It was good to get caught up with him.