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
AIR OF THE DOG: HILARIOUS FLYING POOCHES

FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .

FLY FISHING

A fish almost escapes the beak of a bird as they both soar through the air .

SEXY TRAFFIC GIRLS OF NORTH KOREA

WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .

FIGHT CUB

JUMPING and bouncing off one another, these young cheetahs enjoy some harmless fun .

DUBAI FROM THE SKY

A HEIGHT-addicted airline pilot has taken pictures of the Dubai from 1,300-feet .

POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION

WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .

WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP

A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .

TEEN GIRL TRUCKER YOUNGEST IN UK

Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .

WEATHER TAKES BIZZARE TURN

It was sunny, now it's raining .

FISHERMEN IN MYANMAR BALANCE ON ONE LEG

Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .

PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE

CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .

PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM

A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .