THE family of bouncing baby Ruddi Waterworth-Jones are facing a nervous wait to find out if treatment for his life-threatening cancer is working.

The 10-month-old will start his third bout of chemotherapy today for rhabdomysarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer.

He is the youngest person ever to have a cancerous growth of this type on his prostate gland in the UK.

His family have an appointment with a top doctor at St James’s Hospital in Leeds today.

They expect to be given a date for a scan that will show if the tumour on his prostate has shrunk.

That scan should take place next week.

If the results are positive, a date will then be set for Ruddi to have surgery to remove the tumour, probably in July or August.

Mum Ali Jones, 38, was allowed to take Ruddi home to their house on Lowergate, Paddock, about three weeks ago after an eight-week stint in hospital.

She said: “It was a bit nerve-racking at first because being in hospital for so long you become institutionalised and you don’t know if you can cope on your own.

“Things are a bit up and down. They had to delay the chemo because Ruddi reacted badly to it.

“I’ve become like a trained nurse, having to give him eight medicines twice a day.

“We have a drip at home to feed him at night.

“And we can’t be in situations where there are big groups of people because the risk of infection is massive.”

Ruddi, of Lowergate, Paddock, was perfectly healthy before he started to experience problems going to the toilet when he was seven months old.

His GP treated him for constipation, teething problems and even asthma before Ali, who works for Cedar Court Hotel, decided to take him to hospital.

After being transferred to St James’s, Ruddi was diagnosed with rhabdomysarcoma.

Sarcomas are rare types of cancer that develop in the supporting structures of the body, such as bone, muscle, or cartilage.

Ali and her partner Craig Waterworth have set up a trust fund in Ruddi’s name.

Some of the cash will go towards charities including the Sick Children’s Trust, Candlelighters children’s cancer charity and ward 10 at St James’s Hospital, where he has been treated.

The rest will go to Ruddi, possibly for play equipment, although the family have yet to decide.

Lindley Junior School have already raised more than £60 for the fund through a cake sale.

The Commercial pub in Slaithwaite is holding a collection on Sunday following a gig by new band Angels Playing Saints.

A fundraising fun day called Rooting 4 Ruddi has been organised at the YMCA in Salendine Nook on July 12. Ali’s ex-husband Phillip Jones and his manager Martin Leibermann, who work on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland, are planning a cycle ride from Birmingham to London.

Ali said: “The support we have had from people has been amazing.’’

A group called Support Ruddi Bob, that was set up on social networking website Facebook by Ruddi’s older sister Ellys, has more than 1,400 members.