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
BULLIES MADE MY 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ANOREXIC
A mum has warned of the dangers of child eating disorders, after her 10-year-old daughter developed anorexia when school bullies branded her ‘FAT’ .
LOST LEAPING BABY WHALE
LEAPING for joy five-feet above the waves this baby whale cutie is saying HELLO to its family after being lost .
WORLD’S ONLY ONE ARMED PRO-DJ
DANCE guru Matt Howes leaves crowds in a spin when he gets behind the decks - as the world's only one-armed professional DJ .
DEAD MEDIA: ARTIST CREATES SKULL OUT OF OBSOLETE VHS
If you're ever struggling to find a use for your old VHS tapes you might want to take a tip from this innovative artist .
ADORABLE EXOTIC KITTENS AT NASHVILLE ZOO
A BUMPER season of births has left zoo with three of the cutest exotic kittens you're likely to see .
SEXUALLY ABUSED AT 9 BY GRANDAD
A survivor of abuse has bravely waived her anonymity to tell how she was sexually assaulted from the age of nine - by her depraved grandad .
MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION
An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .
MINI-CANE GUIDES BLIND LEXI
A BLIND school-girl whose growth has been stunted by a rare medical condition is finding her feet again with the help of a specially made mini-cane .
MOODY SEA TURTLE
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
A GRIZZLY GANG
PAWS for thought as you feast your eyes on this rare bear bathing session .
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
GOOGLEMAP WHALESHARKS
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .