Well, what you'll have to do goes beyond just the medical process, but the other factors will be dealt with on other pages on this site. Here we'll deal with the medical side.
First of all you'll have to go and see your GP. I would advise an amount of caution here, because most GPs in the UK have very little or no knowledge about TS syndrome. Many are behind the times and still hold a personal view that it's 'in your head' and that what you're asking for is 'unnecessary cosmetic enhancement'. And they'll make life difficult for you. As a guide I'd say that if your personal GP that you usually see gives you the creeps, patronises you or doesn't listen to you usually, then they're not the best person to see about this. If there is a doctor in your local surgery practice who is known to be more understanding (often these are the female doctors), then request to see that doctor. If there isn't, then ask around your friends to see if anyone can recommend to you a particularly understanding doctor who you can change to. This will make a big difference in the way (and the speed) that you are treated.
For example - I went to see my favourite doctor at my local surgery who has always been open minded and professional and supportive. She obtained NHS funding for me within three weeks (this can take many months or even years) and five months later I had an appointment at a specialist clinic in London. On the other hand, my friend who went to the surgery nearby is still waiting for funding a year later.
The NHS is legally bound to fund treatment for transsexuals. It is a recognised medical condition and is not to be treated as cosmetic. But your local Health Authority will have to fund the treatment, and they like to make it as difficult as possible for you to obtain the funding. They put you on low priority, meaning that you will wait on average a year, from your first visit to the GP on the matter, to your first consultation with a specialist. There are also very few specialist centres for Gender Dysphoria in the country. The link below will tell you where the nearest one to you is - and this means that 90% of the time you'll have to be referred out of your area, which is what the Health Authority will kick up a fuss about.
But eventually you will have your consultation with the gender specialist, and by telling him or her your honest feelings and experiences, you have to convince them that you need hormone treatment. They will insist that you altar your appearance and official documents to reflect your chosen gender role. Note that this means that you have to, in reality, try to appear as male in your every day life, preferably in part or full time work or education, before they'll actually give you the means to do this. That's right - to prove that you are male inside and cannot live inside a female body, you have to show that despite being in a female body you can live as male before they'll start changing your body for you! This farce is what they call the 'Real Life Test', although whose real life it's meant to represent is still a mystery! On the home page of this site you can find a link to my own list of tips for those who wish to appear male before they've been given hormones.
When you're finally given hormones, they will completely change your appearance. Not immediately, but gradually. On average it takes only a year on hormones for someone aged between 18 and 30 to look completeley different. By this time usually the voice has broken, facial hair is growing, body hair, body shape and muscle as well. It varies from person to person and the younger you start, the faster and the more profound the effect. It is in this area that FTMs have the advantage over MTFs! After a few years on hormones you will very likely be indistinguishable on sight from a bio-male (man born in the first place with all the right bits).
If you're going through the NHS, then it's only after you've been on testosterone injections for a long time and living your life exclusively in male role that they will put you on the waiting list for surgery. The surgery you will need is Chest Reconstruction and a Hysterectomy at least, and some FTMs also opt for 'lower surgery', which involves the cosmetic construction of a pseudo-penis. Techniques and availability of this lower surgery are very limited in the UK at the moment, however. The Chest Reconstruction is NOT the same as a mastectomy. You do not simply want your breasts removed, you want the flesh on your chest to be sculpted to form the contours of a healthy male chest.
If you're lucky enough to have access to some decent sums of money, then it's a much better idea to go private for your treatment. Far quicker and much more respectful of your dignity, privacy and sanity, private treatment also does a better job and yields a better end result most of the time. To get yourself on hormones privately will cost you roughly £250 all in all (plus whatever it costs you for a few trips to London, where the most respected consultant is). The going rate for private chest surgery with Dae Davis, who seems to be the most sought after surgeon for this, is between £2500 - £3500, depending on what you have to work with! Many guys prefer to have the chest surgery before hormones, for various reasons. One being that it's emotionally rather hard to deal with the concept of hairy breasts, and another being that if you're rather 'well endowed' up there it will be very difficult for you to disguise it!
But all in all, when the process is over, so long as nobody looks down your trousers (and even then it's still alright if you've had successful lower surgery), you will simply appear to be an ordinary man to the general public, even under the closest scrutiny. It doesn't matter what age you begin your treatment - it will still result in your appearance being unmistakably male. But the younger you start, the more quickly it has this effect.
So yes, there is hope - it is possible to transform a female body into a male one.