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
NATURE'S MOST STUNNING SHAPES AND PATTERNS
FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature .
ADORABLE STOAT HUNTS IN THE SNOW
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
SCUBA-DUPER DIVER BREAKS RECORD FOR 50 HOURS UNDERWATER
A British diver has set a new world record for the longest warm water scuba dive by spending a mammoth 49 hours and 56 minutes under water .
THE MILLION DOLLAR CARAVAN
A luxury caravan with a price tag of ONE MILLION DOLLARS is due to hit the road later this year .
WOMAN SPENDS £20K A YEAR ON 30 PET PUGS
Meet the dog-loving woman who spends £20k a year looking after her 30 pet PUGS .
FIGHTING FOXES
A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .
COUPLE CELEBRATE THEIR 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND RECEIVE SPECIAL CARD FROM NEWLY CROWNED KING CHARLES
A couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week and have received a special card from newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla .
PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA - CUTE PUFFIN BITES OFF MORE THAN HE CAN CHEW
This is the moment a puffin delved into the ocean and bit off more than he could chew to collect a beak full of fish .
GAME OF THRONES FAN IS JON SNOW'S DOPPELGANGER
A psychology student from California looks so much like Game of Thrones' Jon Snow that he is mobbed by fans of the fantasy show .
WORLD'S CRAZIEST BEARDS
CRAZY BEARDS come into their GROWN when they've been twisted and waxed into shape .
MUM SPENDS THOUSANDS ON FAKE BABIES INSTEAD OF HER REAL KIDS
A mum-of-two has splashed out £20k on her seven reborn dolls, but refuses to treat her real kids .