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
PLAYFUL ELEPHANTS MAKE A SPLASH
WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .
RIVET-ING ALL WOOD TOWER
WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .
WORLD’S FASTEST AMPHIBIOUS CAR
Pic By HotSpot Media - WORLD’S FASTEST AMPHIBIOUS CAR -IN PIC- THE FASTEST amphibious car in the world is capable of a hair-raising 44 miles-per-hour on the water .
PUPPY RUN OVER BY TRAIN GIVEN NEW LEASH OF LIFE
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF AFRICAN TRIBES
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
19ST WOMAN LOSES 9ST AFTER GIVING UP GREGGS ADDICTION
A woman who was addicted to GREGGS has lost 9st after giving up her favourite food .
GAME, SET-TEE AND MATCH: COUPLE INSTALL TENNIS COURT IN LOUNGE
A WIMBLEDON-mad couple will be creating a racket this summer - after installing a TENNIS COURT in their living room .
BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .
£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
REAL FRANKENSTEIN'S LAB
WELCOME to the real Frankenstein's lab where carefully pickled creatures are left to stew in jars .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS DIVE
Standing on the edge of a never-ending black hole, this is one leap you wouldn't want to make .