Occurrence and recall rates of fertility discussions with young breast cancer patients.

Despite increasing awareness, fertility is not universally discussed with premenopausal breast cancer patients at the time of diagnosis; older and multiparous patients are at particular risk of not receiving fertility counseling. Even when such discussions are documented, only about half of patients recall the conversation. Patient-reported barriers to fertility preservation include lack of education combined with the stress of diagnosis, financial costs, and perceived treatment toxicities.