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
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 .
MALE ANOREXIC DIED FOR 20 MINS AFTER SHRINKING TO 4.5 STONE
A man who developed anorexia as a teen has told that dying for 20 minutes helped shock him into recovery .
FISHERMEN IN MYANMAR BALANCE ON ONE LEG
Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .
FLYING PENGUINS LEAP OUT OF THE OCEAN
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE
This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .
EUROSTAR-BUCKS
THIS ONE of a kind experience brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'a coffee to go' .
HEARTBREAK DIET LOST ME 11.5ST AND BAGGED ME A FELLA
When Janet Curry, 38, was told she was ‘too big to date’ by a man she met on the dating website Plenty of Fish, she didn’t let it stop her from looking for love .
SQUIRRELS SQUABBLE OVER LUNCH
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
TRIPLE AMPUTEE SOLDIER FINDS LOVE WITH BLONDE BOMBSHELL RALLY DRIVER
A soldier who lost both legs and an arm in Afghanistan has found love with a blonde bombshell he met through his newfound passion for rally driving .
SLAM DUNK DA FISH
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .
THE DOCTOR WON'T SEE YOU NOW
ONCE A doctor’s surgery, family home and office, an array of medical equipment is scattered throughout this abandoned home .
WOMAN REVEALS HER ONE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERED BURNS TO 22% OF HER BODY AFTER POURING BOILING MAC N’ CHEESE WATER OVER HERSELF
A mum-of-one has revealed how her one-year-old daughter suffered second and third degree burns to 22% of her body after pouring boiling water over herself .