There was a time when a diagnosis of prostate cancer meant a rush to perform radical prostatectomy to remove the prostate and the tumor along with it—with all the ensuing complications of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. To counter this rush to surgery, Harvard oncologist Marc Garnick, editor in chief of Harvard’s annual prostate disease guide, describes a program of active surveillance of certain slow-growing cancers that leave a man’s urological function intact. Not everyone qualifies for this approach, but it’s certainly something you should discuss with your doctor.