I am back at home tonight after staying at my parents since the surgery.

I went back today to get the staples and catheter removed. What a relief!!! I'm still a little sore. The staples really didn't cause any problems. I'm kinda tired from doing 3/4 of the driving.

Dr. Locke stepped in and spoke to me for a few minutes. He said he was very concerned during the surgery. It was a difficult surgery. He said he did not remove the lymph nodes, in part because of the time it took to get the prostate out, plus he just doesn't feel that their removal contribute much in the spread of cancer or the detection of whether cancer has spread.

He said the cancer was not encapsulated... meaning that there was a 'break through' on the left side, it was not all contained within the prostate. However, he said the margins were good.

The final Gleason score on the pathology report was an 8. If you'll remember, the previous score was a 6/7. Also, if you will remember, the score is the sum of the ranking of 2 samples. The 2 samples were a 3 and 5. So, one sample was very 'bad', the other was so-so.

The challenge now is to recuperate and work and becoming continent again. There's some hope to that. The area(s) down below just kinda ache and feel sore.

The cats are glad to have me back. Elmer's spent the last 1-2 hours spread all over my lap and chest. If you know Elmer you have an idea of what that means.

Thanks for the prayers, cards, calls and well wishes.

Paul