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
ABANDONED WILD WEST THEME PARK
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
COSPLAY COUPLE FIND LOVE THROUGH GAME OF THRONES OBSESSION
A Game of Thrones obsessed couple have fallen in love after meeting at a comic convention dressed as lovestruck characters Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drago .
I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA
WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .
BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: VIEW FROM A PILOT’S CHAIR
Working at a height of 36,000ft, pilots may have the best view in the world .
FATHER-OF-ONE STUNS WIFE AFTER REVEALING POLE DANCING SECRET
A father-of-one stunned his wife of twenty-five years after revealing his secret love of POLE DANCING .
GRANDMA IS CHATTED UP BY TOYBOYS AFTER LOSING 12 STONE
A grandma who lost almost 12 stone after undergoing a gastric bypass has revealed that she now gets chatted up by men half her age .
CROC VS BAMBI
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .
ONE HUMP OR TWO? CAMEL ENJOYS BREAKFAST WITH FAMILY
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and for this greedy camel he can't get enough of his morning feed, as he gate crashes his owner's mealtime .
CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
SPELLBINDING ENGLISH STAR TRAILS
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
WOMAN LOSES 8ST TO DITCH 'FAT SISTER' TAG
A former takeaway addict, who once weighed 20st, has lost over 8st in a bid to ditch her ‘fat sister’ tag .