Paul,
Will you be able to accompany your father to future appointments? It's a lot easier to get the facts if you get them first-hand. It's the rare patient, especially at age 85, who can understand, remember, and pass along everything a doctor says.
At the next opportunity I suggest that you ask for, or have your father ask for, the lab report of his blood counts. It is called a Complete Blood Count (CBC) or a Full Blood Count (FBC).
To understand what's in the lab report, you can ask his current doctor, ask the haematologists you'll see, look at medical web pages
like this or ask other patients and family members here at Marrowforums.