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
MIRACLE BABY SAVED BY SUPERGLUE
A miracle baby has overcome a one-in-five-million brain condition – after a blob of glue saved his life .
FLORESCENT PLANKTON LIGHT UP AUSTRALIAN SEA
An Australian beach is illuminated by an enticing neon blue glow as a rare phenomenon lights up the water .
A HOLE LOT OF TROUBLE! - WOMAN HAS PHOBIA OF HOLES
Meet mother of four, Jackie Wright, whose bizarre fear means she is terrified of HOLES .
SLEEP DISORDER WOMAN COLLAPSES EVERY TIME SHE LAUGHS
A woman with a rare condition that means she collapses every time she laughs fears she may have passed the rare illness onto her young son .
INCREDIBLE BABY DREAMS BROUGHT TO LIFE
WHETHER FLOATING through space or diving underwater, a lucky baby boy enjoys once in a life time experiences - in his DREAMS .
PUPPY LOVE: DOGS GET MARRIED IN $10,000 CEREMONY
Two dogs who couldn't keep their paws off each other have been united in matrimonial bliss after their owners shelled out $10,000 on a lavish canine wedding ceremony .
SNOWCAP SQUIRREL
WITH A LITTLE cap of fresh snow resting on his head, this squirrel tries his best to pull off his new look .
WOMAN LOSES 8ST TO DITCH 'FAT SISTER' TAG
A former takeaway addict, who once weighed 20st, has lost over 8st in a bid to ditch her ‘fat sister’ tag .
WHITE TAILED EAGLES FIGHT FOR FOOD
The claws come out at meal time as a group of white tailed eagles brawl over road-kill .
LIGHTHOUSES OVERLOOK GLOWING SUNRISES
The lighthouses of Brittany, from Brest to Le Conquet, stand tall on France’s north-western coast against stunning scenery .
SHOCKING CCTV OF WOMEN AND CHILD HIT AND RUN
THIS astonishing film shows the moment a hit-and-run driver ploughed into a woman and a toddler on a Coventry street .
SUMMER ARRIVES AT LAST
Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .