A study in Sydney shows that most women who are diagnosed with breast cancer know little to nothing about how breast cancer treatment will affect their fertility and what their options are of protecting and preserving it.

As most women begin treatment around one week after their initial diagnosis, Dr. Michelle Peate, the lead author of the study, said that women were under pressure to make rapid decisions about their fertility without adequate information. The study looked at 111 women between the ages of 21 and 40 who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and who described themselves as not being finished with having children, regardless of whether or not they had any already. Researchers simply asked if they knew what effects their cancer treatment would have on their fertility, and whether or not they knew about their options to preserve it.

Most women, including those who were single and didn’t have children yet wanted to know about their options, and 63% were not certain whether or not they should do IVF treatments or freezing their eggs. “I think this is really important from a medical perspective so doctors don’t just assume that because woman is single, young or already has children she won’t want to talk about it”, said Dr. Peate.