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
VISOR FASHION FAIL
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .
TRAINEE DOC DUMPED FOR BEING CHUBBY - NOW HE'S A HUNKY BODYBUILDER
A medical student has gone from chunky to hunky after being dumped by his ex- girlfriend for being too 'chubby' .
RABID GIRL BIT NIGHTCLUBBER BECAUSE SHE WAS HUNGRY
A woman who left a fellow nightclubber needing plastic surgery after savagely biting her on the hand because she was hungry, has been spared prison .
UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP
A brave cricket takes his chances as he sits on top of this green papua tree frog .
THEY'RE BEHIND YOU!
SURROUNDED by tens of thousands of fish, this outnumbered diver is dwarfed by a mass of sea life .
SHEEPDOG GIVES BIRTH TO BUMPER LITTER OF 14 PUPS
One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .
WORLD'S CRAZIEST BEARDS
CRAZY BEARDS come into their GROWN when they've been twisted and waxed into shape .
MAN PROPOSES TO GIRLFRIEND AFTER FACEBOOK LIKES CHALLENGE
A couple have got engaged after the bride-to-be’s boyfriend set her a Facebook ‘likes’ challenge .
REAL LIFE ELF - WOMAN HAS EARS POINTED TO LOOK LIKE AN ELF
A Canadian woman who is obsessed with all things mythical has had her ears cut and shaped to look like an ELF .
THE DANGEROUS WORK OF SULPHUR MINERS
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
BOARDER” COLLIES AND SURF MAD MUTTS HIT THE WAVES
Dogs catch waves at the Coronado Bay dog surf championships Saturday 22nd June 2013- DOG SURFING mutts have never looked so gnarly .
I LOST 10ST AFTER MY SON DREW ME AS A BLOB
A 20st mum-of-four who was dangerously obese has lost half her body weight after her son drew her as a BLOB at school .