Doctors sometimes find leukemia after a routine blood test. If
you have symptoms that suggest leukemia, your doctor will try to
find out what's causing the problems. Your doctor may ask about
your personal and family medical history. You may have one or
more of the following tests: - Physical exam: Your doctor checks
for swollen lymph nodes, spleen, or liver. - Blood tests: The
lab does a complete blood count to check the number of white
blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Leukemia causes a
very high level of white blood cells. It may also cause low
levels of platelets and hemoglobin, which is found inside red
blood cells. - Biopsy: Your doctor removes tissue to look for
cancer cells. A biopsy is the only sure way to know whether
leukemia cells are in your bone marrow. Before the sample is
taken, local anesthesia is used to numb the area. This helps
reduce the pain. Your doctor removes some bone marrow from your
hipbone or another large bone. A pathologist uses a microscope
to check the tissue for le