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
WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP
A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .
BEAUTY QUEEN ACID SCARE
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BEAUTY QUEEN ACID SCARE: Miss England finalist, Karla Fitzpatrick, 19, at the Miss England contest .
LIQUID SCULPTURES
A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .
REAL LIFE DOLLS HOUSE
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
SPECTACLED BEAR IS CHRISTMAS STAR ON ZOO’S TREE
Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show .
250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS - 250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM- In Pic - The start line on the Heartlands Parkway Nechels Birmingham .
UK'S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL
THE UK’S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL attributes her success to the bendy-body condition that once left her body wracked in pain .
COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
Desperate dog set off alarm before police smashed car window in Exmouth
The dog having been pulled from the car - A police officer smashed a window in the blue Chrysler car to free the dog which was in visible distress .