Based on the results, it looks like, if given a choice, you should keep your ovaries, said Leslie Bernstein, a professor at City of Hope cancer center, who was not involved in the study. Tens of thousands of women each year have their ovaries taken out during a hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus. The idea is to prevent ovarian cancer, and the rationale has been that if the woman is finished having children, her ovaries are of no use and might as well come out while the surgeon is in there.