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
SISTERS BOTH HAVE 1 IN 3.5M DISEASE THAT IS TURNING THEM TO CRYSTAL

Meet the sisters who have both been diagnosed with a one in 3 .

CATERPILLAR KISS

PERCHING on the edge of a flower, these loved-up caterpillars can't resist each other as they enjoy a romantic moment together .

HAPPILY UN-COUPLED - JILTED WOMAN THROWS DIVORCE PARTY

A woman has celebrated the end of her marriage to her unfaithful husband by throwing herself a DIVORCE PARTY .

JUSTIN BIEBER FAN LOSES 7 STONE TO BE HIS 'GIRLFRIEND'

Bryanna Debinder, 20, from Pennsylvania in the USA, has lost 7 stone in order to impress her idol .

AN ABANDONED HOUSE IN THE WOODS

INTIMATELY showcasing personal artefacts from a family's life, this abandoned bungalow has been left to rot for almost a decade .

PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM

A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .

MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

HYPER-REALISTIC DINNER IS ACTUALLY DESSERT

From a platter of finger licking chicken wings to a bowl of Chinese noodle soup, these foodie snaps are enough to make your savoury saliva glands drool .

JEAN- IUS DIET: 24ST MUM LOSES 12ST THANKS TO JEANS DIET

A mum-of-three lost half of her body weight after her daughter was teased by playground bullies for having a 'fat mum' .

“HOTDOG” EUROPES BIGGEST CHILLI DOG IS NO WIENER AT 13,000 CALORIES

A restaurant famed for creating the 3lb cheeseburger has unveiled its latest culinary challenge – the largest chilli cheese hotdog in Europe .

ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES

A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .

GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE

This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .