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 the blood test shows you might have leukaemia, or if your GP is concerned about some of the symptoms you are having, s/he will send you to see a specialist doctor (a haematologist) at a nearby hospital. There are NHS cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who needs to see a specialist, and how quickly.

At the 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.