By afternoon Scott is in a hospital for more lab work. One test is a more intricate blood workup. His white blood cells are stained so a lab technician can look at them under a microscope. The next morning he has a bone marrow biopsy. A core of his bone marrow is extracted with a pull from a large needle inserted into his hip bone.
Marrow is where all blood cells are manufactured.
The first test reveals not only that his blood has a high number of white blood cells, but also that the cells are not developing. They're immature and cannot fight off infections. Scott has chronic myelogenous leukemia. Without treatment, he will probably die before his 30th birthday. And in 1995 his only chance for a cure is a bone marrow transplant.