How do doctors diagnose leukemia?
Some children are diagnosed with leukemia during a routine screening. For example, a blood test at a regular checkup uncovers anemia, and the doctor decides to investigate the cause. More often, though, persistent parents whose child is simply not getting better lead the pediatrician to do the necessary tests. If your pediatrician suspects that your child has leukemia, she’ll probably refer you to a pediatric oncologist, a cancer specialist who focuses on children. That doctor may begin his analysis by ordering a complete blood workup so that he can look at your child’s red and white blood cells and platelets. If anything looks suspicious, such as too few or too many of any of these blood cells, he’ll need to do a bone marrow test. This involves inserting a needle into your child’s bone marrow (usually in one of his hipbones) and drawing out some of the marrow to test. The test sounds painful, but your child will be sedated for the procedure, which usually takes about ten to 15 minutes
