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
TIME TRAVELLING PHONE APP
OFFERING a glimpse into the past, a mash-up of old and new photographs show how the world’s biggest cities have changed .
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
WOMAN LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HER CHILDHOOD FRIEND BATTERED HER WITH A COSH AND BROKE HER NOSE IN VICIOUS ATTACK
A mum-of-two has revealed how her childhood friend of 20 years attacked her with a cosh and broke her nose in a vicious attack .
POLYAMOROUS TRIO: I SHARE A HOUSE WITH MY TWO BOYFRIENDS AND OUR CHILDREN
Sunny Saap, 27, from Columbia, Missouri, United States, enjoys life with her two boyfriends .
REVELLER'S NEW BEST FRIEND
Pic By HotSpot Media - REVELLER'S NEW BEST FRIEND -IN PIC- MEET the revellers new best friend – an interactive sign that will direct you to the nearest happy hour .
FROZEN WATERFALLS
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
NATURE'S MOST STUNNING SHAPES AND PATTERNS
FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature .
BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA
SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .
MESMERISING FUNGI
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .
CHEEKY MONKEY COOLS OFF IN APRIL SHOWERS
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .