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
THEY'RE BEHIND YOU!
SURROUNDED by tens of thousands of fish, this outnumbered diver is dwarfed by a mass of sea life .
EASTER ISLAND REPLICA STATUES DESTROYED IN SEA FALL
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
BOY WHOSE BRAIN GREW IN NOSE IS REAL-LIFE PINOCCHIO
A little boy whose brain grew inside his nose has been described as the 'real-life Pinocchio' by his proud mum .
SHOCKING CCTV OF WOMEN AND CHILD HIT AND RUN
THIS astonishing film shows the moment a hit-and-run driver ploughed into a woman and a toddler on a Coventry street .
MUM SPENDS £17K ON HER REBORN BABIES
When mum-of-three Becky Tully was told she couldn’t have any more children due to health reasons, she refused to give up on having the little girl she had always wanted .
AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT
A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .
POLAR BEAR HUG
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
BULLIES CRUELLY CALLED ME “PIG NOSE” AND “NO NOSE” - NOW I’VE EMBRACED MY FACIAL DIFFERENCE AND FEEL BEAUTIFUL
A woman has revealed how cruel bullies taunted her daily at school, calling her names like 'pig nose' and 'no nose' .
STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS
CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .
DIVERS EXPLORE UNDERWATER CANYON WITH 100M VISIBILITY
A diver explores the crystal clear waters of the Silfra canyon in southern Iceland, which is the only place on Earth where you can dive or snorkel between two continental plates .
TUNNEL FOR VICTORY
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
HUNGRY TURTLE ATTRACTS AN AUDIENCE
SURROUNDED by divers, a hungry green sea turtle enjoys being the centre of attention .