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
THE DANGEROUS WORK OF SULPHUR MINERS
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED
She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .
YOGI - BEAR - POLAR CUBS MORNING BEAR-ROBICS
A young polar bear cub becomes the yogi bear as she stretches off for a morning aerobics session .
UNDERWATER DIVERS FEED TIGER SHARKS
SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .
SMILEY GECKO ENJOYS HIS VIEW FROM THE TOP
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .
STRANDED POLAR BEAR
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
GLACIER ICE CLIMBING
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
SUPER CUTE BABY RED PANDAS
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
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' .
CHEEKY WHITE TIGER CUB
WITH HIS PAW covering his mouth, this cheeky cub looks amused by something .
PURR-FECT TIGER CUBS GET THEIR HEALTH CHECKS
TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .