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
LAZY LIZARDS RELAX AND POSE LIKE YODA
With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .
ABANDONED OLD CROW COTTAGE
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
CROC VS BAMBI
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .
BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
CREATE A RHAPSODY ON BOHEMIAN'S NEW SLICK OIL CAN GUITAR
GUITARISTS that want to lay down some slick licks will soon be able to get their hands on a brand new guitar - made from oil cans .
GENTLE WHALE SHARK GIANTS FEED UNDER FISHERMAN’S BOAT
A group of whale sharks gather to feed underneath a fisherman’s boat off the coast of Papua, Indonesia .
MY EVIL STEP-DAUGHTER TROLLED HERSELF TO DESTROY ME…AND MY MARRIAGE!
When Louise Steen walked down the aisle, she imagined a perfect future with her older hubby – but her life would soon become a living hell .
BEETLES DOOR
COULD this £5,000 auction of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool front door be the most bizarre celebrity sale yet? The door, which looks-like it may have been knocked – and possibly kicked – very hard during its past, was used by members of Britain’s most famous band to visit lead-singer Paul McCartney when he lived at the address from 1955 to 1964 .
CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .