TERMINAL CANCER MUM MIRACLE RECOVERY AFTER UK-FIRST OP

A mother told she had terminal cancer by doctors who ignored her pleas for help 13 times has made a miracle recovery following the UK's first operation of its kind. Ruth McDonagh was repeatedly turned away by medics over the course of two years despite suffering from the classic symptoms of bowel cancer. By the time it was diagnosed, she was told she had just 18 months left to live as a huge tumour in her bowel had grown so large it was almost inoperable. Her only option was a £100,000 operation only available in the US which was certain to leave her paralysed from the waist down. But at the eleventh hour a team of UK doctors trained in the American technique agreed to carry out Ruth's surgery in a 13-hour operation never before carried out in this country.

Other great stories
HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

WOMAN NEARLY DIED AFTER INFECTED ECZEMA WOUND LED TO DEADLY FLESH-EATING BUG THAT ATE A HOLE IN HER ARM

A woman was left fighting for her life after an eczema wound became infected and caused a deadly flesh-eating bug to ravish a hole in her arm .

BABY BABOON GOES BANANAS FOR ACROBATIC MONKEY

Most people bend over backwards to keep children entertained, but this baboon show us how it’s done .

SHARK WHISPERER BALANCES SHARK IN HIS HAND

Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .

PEEKABOO SQUIRRELS EMERGE FROM THEIR NEST

SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .

TIME TRAVELLING PHONE APP

OFFERING a glimpse into the past, a mash-up of old and new photographs show how the world’s biggest cities have changed .

GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD

SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS

Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .

FIGHT CUB

JUMPING and bouncing off one another, these young cheetahs enjoy some harmless fun .

PLAYFUL TIGERS GET UP TO MISCHIEF

SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .

BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE

A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .