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
KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
GLACIER ICE CLIMBING
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
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 .
STABBED BY SON
Daniel Blore, 21, of Innage Crescent, Bridgnorth, stabbed his mother three times in the attack on January 11 this year, Stafford Crown Court heard .
LETTERS TO A SERIAL KILLER: PALS WITH DENNIS NILSEN AND I EVEN HAVE HIS ASHES AND GLASSES
Andrea Kubinova, 30, from London, became great friends with serial killer and necrophiliac, Dennis Nilsen .
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 .
OLD BUS TRANSFORMED INTO AMAZING HOLIDAY LET
FULLY equipped with a kitchen and lounge, it's hard to believe this modern holiday let is actually a BUS .
MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER
While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .
SEXY WEIGHTLIFTER LOSES 12ST AFTER SWAPPING BISCUITS FOR BICEPS
A weightlifter has lost a whopping 12st after swapping biscuits for biceps .
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 .
HUNGRY HERON STRUGGLES TO HOLD ONTO ITS CATCH
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .