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
CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
MAN SPENDS £100K TO LOOK LIKE KIM KARDASHIAN
A man has spent almost £100K on lip fillers, Botox and designer clothing in a bid to look like Kim Kardashian .
REVELLER'S NEW BEST FRIEND
Pic By HotSpot Media - REVELLER'S NEW BEST FRIEND -IN PIC- MEET the revellers new best friend – an interactive sign that will direct you to the nearest happy hour .
ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL
HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .
CHIPS IN: MAN MAKES £4K A MONTH SENDING POTATOES IN THE POST
A man has made a SPUD-TACULAR amount of money sending potatoes in the post .
100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION
WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .
ROMANIAN CELEBRATES NEW JOB AS KNIFE THROWER'S ASSISTANT
A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .
ADORABLE SQUIRREL GETS READY FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT
ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .
SHIVERING SQUIRREL
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
TRIG-OF -THE- EYE STREET ART
At first glance what might look like ordinary rusty bridge and road railings, are in fact amazing works of art .
KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED
She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .
ADORABLE YOUNG FALLOW DEER IN LONDON'S BUSHY PARK
An adorable young fallow deer peers over its shoulder and is greeted by a cheeky jackdaw crow sitting on its back .