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
I’M NOT DRUNK, I'M A REAL LIFE SLEEPING BEAUTY!
Several times a year, Gemma, 21, can be found mumbling her words and struggling to concentrate as she walks around in a dream-like state .
MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS
FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .
TAXIDERMY ART BOOK
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
ARTIST NAILS IT- BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS CREATED FROM NAILS
An artist has NAILED IT by creating beautiful and perfectly precise artwork using a hammer and 30,000 nails .
OKLAHOMA TORNADO
Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .
WOMAN PARALYSED BY EX CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CYBERSTALKING
A woman who was cyberstalked before being shot and paralysed by her ex-husband is campaigning to raise awareness for stalking victims .
FUNERAL COMPANY MAKE DIAMONDS FROM CREMATED REMAINS
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
FIVE-WEEK-OLD NEWBORN IS UK’S YOUNGEST BEAUTY PAGEANT BABY
A five-week-old newborn from Fife has become the UK’s youngest beauty pageant baby .
ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO
A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .
POLE-DANCING MUM CELEBRATES PREGNANCIES WITH WACKY STUNTS
A mum has celebrated each of her four pregnancies with a host of wacky stunts - including acrobatics, aerial contortion, pole-dancing and risque photo shoots .
GIRL GROWS BACK FACE AFTER ONE IN MILLION ALLERGIC REACTION
A teenage girl has grown back her entire face after being struck down by a rare skin disease .
10-MONTH-OLD SON SUFFERED BURNS TO 35% OF HIS BODY AFTER KNOCKING SCALDING POT OF WATER OVER HIMSELF AT NURSERY
Giancarlo pictured at home during his recovery, wearing his compression garments - A mother-of-three has revealed how her 10-month-old son was severely burnt at nursery .