Jordan and Emma Peel, of Middleton, Leeds, underwent surgery in July to have their thyroid glands removed in a bid to eradicate the risk of cancer in later life.

Now doctors have diagnosed Jordan with cancer and revealed the condition could be imminent for baby Emma.

Dad Richard told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "This has just been a nightmare year for us all. Everything possible has been done to beat this condition but all we seem to be faced with is bad luck.

"The doctors have now told us we are fighting cancer. It is devastating but all we can do is stay strong and fight this together.

"This is just one of so many low points over the past 12 months.

"It has been hard for my wife Denise because she has felt guilty in some way for passing this gene onto her children, but it is just one of those things."

The news is yet another hammerblow for the Leeds family since mum Denise, 37, learned she was carrying a deadly condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN).

The MEN syndrome tends to run in the family and the condition can cause tumours to appear.

Last year the family faced an agonising wait for test results to discover whether she had passed the gene on to children Grant, 13, Jordan, three, and 18-month-old Emma.

Tests on Grant carried out this year revealed he was clear of the condition. Denise has already had the operation to have her thyroid gland removed.

Jordan and Emma underwent surgery in July to have the same operation in the hope that they might be able to grow up without the threat of the condition hanging over them.

Weeks later tests revealed the operations had not been successful and in November doctors detected cancer in Jordan.

Richard said: "We are 95 per cent sure that they have now stopped the cancer spreading to other parts of his body but we are awaiting the results of more tests in the new year.

"We have also been told it may not long before the same thing could happen to Emma as she grows.

"We are again playing a waiting game. In the meantime we will make sure the kids have the best Christmas possible because that's what they deserve after what they have had to go through this year.

"We are determined not to worry about the expense and make sure it is a Christmas they remember."

Leading children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent have also arranged for the family to go on a holiday to Scotland in the new year.

Richard added: "It is just another example of the fantastic support we have received all round."

The condition first cast a shadow over the family when Denise's older sister, Shelly, was diagnosed with the condition in 2004 and three of her five children have been identified as carrying the gene.

The nightmare began when Shelly, 38, from Belle Isle, was told in December 2004 that cancerous in thyroid gland cells needed emergency surgery.

But months after the operation, she was told tumours had returned and she underwent intense radiotherapy.

Doctors then delivered the devastating news that she was suffering from MEN syndrome.

Shelly's sons, Stuart, Jamie and Tommy, have also had their thyroid glands removed in a bid to prevent cancer taking hold in the future.

Sisters Natasha, 18, and Kirsty, eight, have been given the all-clear.