Kimberley Anderson twice battled cancer as a child but is now watching her own son fight the disease.

Miss Anderson, 26, was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just three years old, and with kidney cancer at the age of eight.

She was told by doctors she could never conceive, so she and her partner Christopher Patterson, 30, were overjoyed when they had 'miracle baby' Connor in 2004.

Now her four-year-old-son Connor Patterson is battling testicular cancer.

Their happiness seemed complete 18 months ago when their second child, Abigail, was born.

However, their world was shattered just weeks ago when Connor was diagnosed with cancer.

His treatment has already required the removal of his right testicle, and he faces months more of chemotherapy at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where his mum twice battled the disease.

And lurking at the back of Miss Anderson's mind is the fear that the cancer curse which has blighted her family – two aunts have also fought the disease – could strike her daughter down next.

Miss Anderson was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of three and with cancer of the kidney five years later.

She said: "It's like history repeating itself. It makes me so sad to think it's all happening again.

"I remember all the times I was in hospital as a child, and now Connor is having to go through the same thing. I'm worried sick that Abigail will be next."

Miss Anderson, of Jervis Street, Hebburn, is trying to stay strong for her son, and she can rely on the support of a close-knit family, in particular her grandparents Margaret and Jim Anderson.

Her grandmother said: "You just hope that none of the children will go through it again, but it's always in the back of your mind.

"Connor gets frustrated. He doesn't really know what's happening.

"He gets so tired and at times can't really be bothered to do anything but lie on the couch.

"I remember all the times beside Kimberly's hospital bed, and now we're back there again with Connor. It brings back all the sad memories."