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
RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP
RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP HOTSPOT MEDIA – WITH PICS 0121 551 1004 By Katie Thompson A record-breaking baa-rmy gran with a love for sheep has amassed a collection of nearly 800 woolly wonders .
GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
SHARK SELFIES
NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .
CHEEKY CHIPMUNK
A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .
WELL–HEELED: WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE SHOES WORTH £276,000
Here’s a pair of shoes that really are fit for a princess, and with a price tag of more than £276,000, they are the most expensive shoes in the world .
WOMAN LOSES 8ST AFTER DITCHING CURRY ADDICTION
A woman who was addicted to eating curries has shed an impressive 8st after giving up her favourite food .
RESCUE TURTLES OPEN WIDE FOR DINNER
A pair of BEAUTIFUL rescue sea turtles spot their catch in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef .
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 .
CUDDLY TRAVEL BUNNY IS STOLEN AFTER JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD
An intrepid explorer hopes to be reunited with his travel partner, after his cuddly toy companion was stolen .
THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
MUM REVEALS PREGNANCY ALLERGY
A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .
WORLD'S MOST LIFELIKE DISNEY PRINCESS IS CALIFORNIAN MAN
Meet the world's most lifelike Disney princess - a 21-year-old man from California .