Hairy cell leukaemia tests

If you have worrying symptoms, you usually begin by seeing your family doctor. Your GP will examine you, ask about your general health and ask about your symptoms. This will include

• What your symptoms are
• When you get them
• Whether anything you do makes them better or worse

Your doctor will examine you by

• Feeling for swollen organs or glands
• Looking for signs of abnormal bleeding

Your GP may order a blood test. Some people with HCL don’t have any symptoms and sometimes doctors diagnose hairy cell leukaemia by chance, after a routine blood test.

If your GP suspects that you have leukaemia, they will refer you to a specialist called a haematologist. Haematologists are doctors who treat diseases of the blood. Your haematologist will arrange some tests.

The tests may include

• Blood tests
• Bone marrow test
• Ultrasound or CT scan

Blood tests

The doctor or nurse will take a small amount of blood from a vein in your arm, using a needle and syringe. The blood goes to the laboratory, where a haematologist will look at it under a microscope.

The results show the numbers of different blood cells in your blood sample. This is called a full blood cell count (FBC). The pathologist will also judge whether the cells look normal or not.

Your doctor might also do blood tests to see how well your liver and kidneys are working.

Bone marrow test

Blood cells grow in the bone marrow. Your specialist may want to look at a sample of your bone marrow, to check for signs of disease. You may hear this test called a

• Bone marrow biopsy
• Bone marrow aspiration
• Trephine biopsy

In a bone marrow aspiration, the doctor puts a thin needle into one of your bones to draw out some of the liquid bone marrow in the centre. Usually, the doctor takes the sample from one of your hip bones using a local anaesthetic.

In a bone marrow biopsy, the doctor uses a slightly larger needle to remove a small amount of bone and marrow together.

The doctor usually does an aspiration and biopsy at the same time. There is information about having a bone marrow test in the about cancer tests section.

Ultrasound or CT scan

Ultrasound tests use high frequency sound waves to create a picture of the body’s organs. You may have an ultrasound or CT of your liver and spleen. You may not need this test if your doctor already felt an enlarged liver or spleen during your physical examination.

CT scans are a type of computerised X-ray. They can show up groups of enlarged lymph nodes around the body, as well as abnormalities in body organs.

For information about having a CT scan and having an ultrasound scan go to the about cancer tests section.

Your doctor will ask you to go back to the hospital when your test results have come through. But this may take a little time, even if only a few days. This is a very anxious time for most people. While you are waiting for results it may help to talk to a close friend, relative or your specialist nurse about how you are feeling. You may want to contact a cancer support group to talk to someone who has been through the same experiences.

If you want to find people to share experiences with online, you could use CancerChat, our online forum. Or go through MyWavelength. This is a free service that aims to put people with similar medical conditions in touch with each other.

Our chronic leukaemia organisations page gives details of people who can help and support you. You can also find details of counselling organisations in our counselling section. Our chronic leukaemia reading list has information about books and leaflets on chronic leukaemia and its treatment.