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
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 .
THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BABY COT
A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .
16ST POLE DANCER FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ONLINE TROLLS
A talented 16st pole dancer who was once dubbed a 'disgusting human form' by online trolls is fighting back to show her bullies that big is beautiful .
STUNNING UK LIGHTHOUSES
A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .
FIRE BREATHING FIAT 500
AN ITALIAN mechanic has created the world’s most ferocious mini-car .
HAPPILY UN-COUPLED - JILTED WOMAN THROWS DIVORCE PARTY
A woman has celebrated the end of her marriage to her unfaithful husband by throwing herself a DIVORCE PARTY .
UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
FLYING PENGUINS LEAP OUT OF THE OCEAN
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
MONKEY WITH UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO MARVEL COMICS’ WOLVERINE
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
SUNBATHING MEERKAT MAKES THE MOST OF UK SUN
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
ADORABLE CHRISTMAS BABIES
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .