Eight has always been my lucky number. And, I am delighted to report, it seems to be not just lucky in life, but lucky in producing life. That’s right, the surgeon and embryologist have managed to extract eight eggs. By lunchtime tomorrow, we should find out how many of these eggs have been turned into embryos. There’s a one in 20 chance it will fail, so let’s hope the odds are in our favour this time after so much bad cancer-related luck.

The egg collection procedure (or what I saw of it) is nothing to fear. First, you arrive in your cubicle, get into a gown, foam slippers and a trendy mesh cap. Then you answer lots of questions, confirm consent and, in my case, pop a quick suppository in (it was either me or the anaesthetist doing this and I could tell by the look on his face that he’d rather it was me doing the honours). I obliged as he was the magic anaesthetist who’d managed to extract blood from me just a week ago.

The procedure room itself is the first theatre-like room I have ever seen (usually I get knocked out in a room nearby so I don’t get to see the monitors, team and sets of scrubs). Due to the fact it’s the first time I have been without my bra and corset for an extended period, they let me position myself on the bed, before attaching heart monitors, oxygen and a cannula. After a little gentle persuasion, the team took enough blood out for themselves and the oncologists so I avoided two blood tests today – and further bruising on my sore-looking left arm. Right arm was off limits as this second band shows.

The last thing I remember is a syringe worth of happy relaxing juice and a further syringe of general anaesthetic. After that, they stuck a needle in my ovaries, extracted the eggs and fed me a nice cocktail of morphine and paracetamol. I was back in my cubicle with a packet of biscuits and a nice cup of tea in no time and, am now back home, back in the corset and rejoicing in the fact stage two is pretty much done. Just have to drink three litres of liquid a day (tea doesn’t count sadly) to flush my system – and wait for that embryo call.

You’d think after all this ovarian stimulation, my body might get a day off. Sadly, the oncologist I met in the morning had other ideas. My ovaries may have been swollen with eggs today for baby-making brilliance but, as of tomorrow morning, they’re going to be shut down completely until August (part of fertility back-up plan part two). Tomorrow morning, a lovely nurse at the hospital will be popping an implant under my tummy skin to release a drug called Zoladex. This clever drug (released over the next four weeks, after which I will need another implant) is designed to send me into a fake menopause. Chemotherapy can’t kill something it thinks is already dead. While I can’t say going through the menopause twice (first time at 32 at the same time as chemo) is particularly attractive (just imagine the combined side effects), if someone gives you the chance to protect you’re ovaries, you’ve got to take it. I will be well-versed in hot flushes when the menopause happens for real, that’s for sure.

As well as putting my body through five Zoladex implants, there was one further drug-related revelation in oncology. It seems that because of the fact the cancer had spread beyond the breast and into tissue surrounding the lymph nodes, I will be taking the anti-oestrogen drug for 10 years rather than five. This means that the end of treatment will be 2024 at the earliest! The good news? We should be able to come off it to try for children before the 10 years is up. Sounds a bit like extreme family planning to me.

With the eggs out, the countdown to chemo is now on. April 2 is D-day (or destruction day) and 31 March the day when the PICC line goes in (meaning four months without blood test needles). Stage three is in sight at last.

So, let’s hope we get those embryos in the freezer and let’s hope cancer doesn’t take another chunk out of my femininity. Having taken my boob, it’s already got its eyes on my hair!