Provided that all the cancer and normal prostate gland tissue are removed by the operation then your PSA should fall to a virtually undetectable level within a month.

If the PSA does fall this still does not guarantee a cure.

Usually the first evidence of any further problem is a rise in the PSA level. For this reason blood tests are usually done every three months in the first year after surgery, and then every six months for up to five years, in order to check the PSA values.

If the cancer is going to come back, most people will have a rise in PSA levels during the first eighteen months after surgery. Of the remainder the rise will almost always occur between eighteen months and three years.

If your PSA level remains low or undetectable three years after your surgery your chances of developing further problems are very small indeed.