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
ICELAND'S 360 DEGREE VIEW WATERFALL
THESE BREATH-TAKING photographs show the natural beauty of Iceland's most famous waterfall .
WOMAN CRUELLY NAMED ’TUMOUR GIRL’ FINDS LOVE
A woman who was cruelly called ‘tumour girl’ by bullies has finally found love .
PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
ARTIST TURNS DAUGHTER'S DOODLES INTO WORKS OF ART
THIS UNUSUAL collaboration between a mother and her two-year-old daughter makes for some stunning works of art .
I LIKE MY SALMON ROAR!
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
WOMAN REJECTED BY ADOPTION AGENCY DUE TO PREGNANCY PHOBIA
A woman has spoken of her heartbreak after she was rejected by an adoption agency because of her pregnancy phobia .
MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS
A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .
SCHOOL BULLIES WON'T STOP BIRTHMARK TEEN'S HOLLYWOOD DREAM
A teenager bullied for having birthmarks all over her body now hopes to become a Hollywood actress to show girls that beauty comes from being unique .
STRIPED MARLIN SPEARS ITS CATCH
A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .