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
EYE-CATCHING TRIBAL HAIRSTYLES

BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .

'MUM OF THE YEAR' FALSELY CLAIMED DEAD HUSBAND'S BENEFITS

Kelly Harvey, 30 and new boyfriend Ryan Archbold -A bereaved wife once voted Mum Of The Year has been convicted of benefit fraud after claiming widow's allowance long after her new partner had moved in .

SNOWY SQUIRRELS PLAY A GAME OF BALL

Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .

POLAR BEARS HAVE A SPLASHING TIME

Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .

THE FIRST LADY OF FASHION APP

She was recently named Best Dressed Woman in a new list and is regarded as one of the most stylish women in the world .

PLAYFUL TIGERS GET UP TO MISCHIEF

SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .

VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG

A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .

WEDDING CAKE FAIL

COULD this be the most distastrous wedding cake fail EVER? Most brides opt for a traditional tiered white wedding cake decorated with delicate pink roses and lace for their big day .

MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER

While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .

BIKINI DIVER SWIMS WITH SHARKS

ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .

THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES

WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .

WOMAN ‘DIED’ GIVING BIRTH TO HER SON DUE TO HER 19ST FRAME SO SHE LOST 8ST 13LBS AND NOW SHE’S A SIZE 8-10

At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .