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Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms and look at your medical history. S/he may also examine you - for example to see if your spleen or lymph nodes are enlarged.
Usually s/he will send a sample of your blood to the laboratory to be looked at under a microscope.
If your GP is concerned about some of the symptoms you are having or your blood test results, s/he will send you to see a consultant at Noble's Hospital. The consultant may then refer you to a specialist doctor (a haematologist) usually at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. There are cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who needs to see a specialist, and how quickly.
At the specialist hospital, the doctor will probably need to carry out a bone marrow test to find out more about your illness.
For this, some bone marrow is taken from the back of the pelvis. Most patients have a local anaesthetic, but some prefer a sedative injection to make them sleepy and relaxed. The doctor uses a fine needle to take the sample. It can be a bit painful for a little while afterwards, but taking normal painkillers should help.
The bone marrow samples then go to the laboratory. It may be a few days before you and your hospital doctor get the results. If you have leukaemia, the tests will tell your doctor exactly which type you have. S/he can then use this information to plan your treatment.
