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
SQUIRREL VS DINOSAUR
A feisty squirrel takes on a fearsome foe when he decides to tackle a T-REX .
BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
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 .
THUG WHO BEAT UP SOLDIER JAILED FOR 9 YEARS
N evil mugger who battered a Birmingham old soldier and fled with just £40 has been jailed for nine years .
THE MILLION DOLLAR CARAVAN
A luxury caravan with a price tag of ONE MILLION DOLLARS is due to hit the road later this year .
FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM
Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .
NERVOUS SQUIRREL
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
BACK TO BASICS HOTEL
CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .
DERELICT MANSION
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE
CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .