A Patient's Story Helaine recovered from leukemia 
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In order to choose the most appropriate treatment for you, the leukemia must be correctly diagnosed.
There are four main types of leukemia, each with many subtypes, and several forms of leukemia that more unusual.
To diagnose leukemia, a doctor usually takes a complete medical history and performs an array of blood tests and a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy to determine whether a patient has leukemia, and what type and specific subtype.
By examining the biopsy, a skilled and experienced pathologist can determine the exact form of leukemia. Your biopsy slides should be read by a pathologist with particular expertise in leukemia, because accurate diagnosis is essential to choosing the best treatment.
In addition, physicians use a number of tests that help them determine specific features of the cells in biopsied tissue including genetic abnormalities such as chromosomal rearrangements -- which are common in leukemias -- and whether the cells have specific proteins (antigens) on their surfaces; this information helps both identify the cells' origins and determine the patient's prognosis.
Physicians sometimes use imaging tests to determine whether leukemia has affected the bones or the organs such as the kidneys or brain, or the lymph nodes. These tests can include chest x-rays, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT scan), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Physicians may also perform a lumbar puncture to see if diseases cells are in the central nervous system.
