CANCER DRUG FIGHT DAD DIES, EVEN AFTER LYING TO GET TREATMENT
A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37. Mark Bannister's wife has revealed how her husband was forced to LIE to doctors in order to get the life-prolonging treatment he had been denied due to a cruel postcode lottery. But after wasting six months of precious time trying to obtain the drug Avastin, Mark's cancer was too advanced for the medicine to have any effect. The dad-of-two succumbed to the brain tumour he had been battling for nine years at around 6am on Monday morning, with his wife Karen, 33, at his side. In tribute to her husband, who served in Northern Ireland and Bosnia during nine years in the army, grieving Karen said: "The Avastin didn't have any effect but we had to fight for six months in order to get it. "In all that time his tumour had been growing. In the end, he had to claim that he was living at another address in order to get the treatment. Who knows what would have happened if he had got the drug sooner - I truly believe it would have helped him.
Other great stories
LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA
SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO
A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .
STUNNING SUMATRAN TIGER CAUSES A SPLASH
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
BALD IS BEAUTIFUL: WOMEN WITH ALOPECIA TRANSFORMED INTO STUNNING SIRENS
A photographer has transformed women with alopecia into stunning sirens - showing that bald is beautiful .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
MOTHER'S FEAR AFTER SUICIDE DAUGHTER’S STALKER RELEASED
A mother is living in fear after the stalker she holds responsible for her daughter's death is back on the streets, after serving just one year in prison .
STUNNING ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING RECEPTION
A couple celebrated tying the knot with a spectacular Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding reception .
HEART DRUGS MADE ME LOSE MY EMOTIONS - FOR 12 YEARS
A grandmother has told how she has been unable to feel emotion for the last 12 years thanks to heart drugs she had to take in order to survive .
WOMAN WHO LOST 9ST SPENT £11K TO GET PERFECT BODY
A woman has spent over £11k to get the perfect body after a 9st weight loss left her with excess skin .