JENNIFER: IN THIS MORNING'S WOMAN'S DOCTOR, IF YOU'VE HAD A HYSTERECTOMY, YOU MAY ASSUME YOU CAN'T BE DIAGNOSED WITH OVARIAN CANCER. THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY TRUE. WHILE HAVING YOUR UTERUS REMOVED DECREASES YOUR RISK OF DEVELOPING OVARIAN CANCER, IT'S STILL POSSIBLE TO GET. JOINING US LIVE,R. D KHULPATEEA. THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. >> APPRECIATE IT. JENNIFER: SO THE REASO FNOR DEVELOPING OVARIAN CANCER IS BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE GETS THEIR OVARIES REMOVED WITH THE HYSTERECTOMY? >> RIGHT. ESPECIALLY IN YNGOUER WOMEN, IN THEIR 30S AND 40S, WE KEEP THE OVARIES IN BECAUSE THEY PLAY AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION IN PROTECTING CARDIAC AND BONE HEALTH. BUT AS WOMEN AGE, THEY STILL REMAIN AT RISK FOR HAVING OVARIAN CANCER IN THE FUTURE. JENNIFER: IS IT A CONVERSATION THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE WITH THEIR DOCTORT A THE TIME OF A HYSTERECTOMY, THE BENEFITS OF KEEPING YOUR OVARIES? >> ABSOLUTELY. BOTH THE BENEFITS AND RISKS NEED TO BE EXPLAINED AT THE TIME OF THE HYSTERECTOMY. WITH THE DOCTOR, THE PATIENT WILL MAKE THE IMPORTANT ZIKS AS TO WHETHER TO KEEP THOSE ORGANS IN PLACE. MESO WOMEN IN SURGERIES MAKE THE DECISION TO KEEP TIRHE CERVIX IN PLACE AND WILL NEED TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT KEEPING AN EYE ON THEIR RISK OF CERVICAL CANCER GNGOI FORWARD. >> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS OF OVARIAN CANCER? >> THEY'RE PRETTY -- THEY SOUND INNOCUS,OU BUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE PERSISTENT REFLUX, ABDOMALIN DISTENSION OR BLOATING, SO SOMETIMES THEY FEEL FULL AFTER EATING QUICKLY, EATING SMALL AMOUNTS. URINARY COMPLAINS. SO WHEN THESE SORT OF SMALL SYMPTOMS, WHEN THERE'S MULTIPLE OF THESE SYMPTOMS, AND THEREY' PERSISTENT OR NEW, THAT'S WHEN KIND OF SHOULD RAISE OUR ALERT A LITTLE BIT TO BRING THAT ATTENTIONO T YOUR DOCTOR AND MAYBE LOOK FOR SYMPTOMS OF OVARIAN CANSER? >> WT HAARE SOME OF THE TESTING TOOLS YOU USE FOR IT. >> USUALLY, WE START WITH A PELVIC SONOGRAM, WHICH IS A REALLY GOOD WAY TO VISUALIZE THE OVARIES AND THE PELVIC SYMPTOMS. >> SO YOU TALKED ABOUT AGE PLAYING A ROLE IN DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO KEEP YOUR OVARIES WHEN YOU DO A STHYERECTOMY. IS THERE A SORT OF AN AGE CUT-OFF? EAR WE TALKING AFTER MENOPAUSE? >> YEAH, AFTER MENOPAUSE, THAT'S WHERET I BECOMES A JUDGMENT CALL. I MEAN, THE OVARIES DON'T MAKE AS MANY OFHE HORMONES AFTER MENOPAUSE, BUT THERE ARE STUDIES THAT SHOW QUALITY AND LENGTH OF LIFEAN C EVEN BE RETAINED BY KEEPING THE OVARIES AND EVEN AFR MTEENOPAUSE TO SOME DEGREE. >> OKAY. WELL, DR. KHULPATEEA, THANKSOR F JOINING US. APPRECIATE IT. >> NO PROBLEM. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. JENNIFER: IF