Dean Wharmby, 39, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, passed away on Sunday after losing his battle with liver cancer. He died in a hospice with his partner Charlotte Rigby by his side (pictured right). Mr Wharmby, an ex-bodybuilder (pictured left) was told he had just weeks to live in November last year after a large tumour was found on his liver. He had been trying to fight the disease by using natural medicine, taking vitamins and adopting a strict diet which involved cutting out sugar and meat (he is pictured, inset, with his partner Charlotte and daughter Scarlett). Previously, he had survived on a 10,000 calorie a day diet of burgers, pizzas and bacon sandwiches - washed down with seven to eight cans of energy drink. He set up a Facebook page to chronicle his experience of battling the disease, which now has 10,000 followers. In a tribute on his page, Ms Rigby wrote: 'I know that where Dean is now, he is free, he is amazed, he has shook off all his illness and pain and is pure and perfect and will live forever'.

Shannon Finan, 21, from Coventry, began struggling with her weight when she was 16, despite being a healthy 9st. By the time she was 18, she was surviving on meagre rations of fruit and veg each day - and claims she begged her GP for help after losing two stone in two months.
But the 7st teenager - who was taking 12 laxatives and two diet pills a day - claims her doctor turned her away because her BMI (Body Mass Index) wasn't low enough to meet NHS guidelines. Distraught, Miss Finan, from Coventry, cut out food all together - in a bid to get help from doctors. When her weight plummeted to a skeletal 6st, she was finally admitted to an eating disorder clinic and is now in recovery. She said: 'I was shocked when I was shown the door. 'At that point I was really low - I was eating salad and fruit and had hardly any energy. I just wanted help.' Charities have warned Miss Finer's traumatic experience of seeking help is 'alarmingly common'.

Heidi Faulkner, 36, from Hertfordshire, was left in agony after a bungling surgeon removed too much fat from her bottom - leaving her coccyx exposed. He also left huge diagonal scars that made it look as if 'a shark had taken a bite out of my bum'. Ms Faulkner, who got her cut-price 'booty job' during a visit to Prague, is now warning of the dangers of having surgery abroad.

Paul Maddern, from Preston, felt 'down' after gaining three stone (centre, right), while his bride-to-be, Abi, saw her weight creep up before having surgery to correct scoliosis (far left) so the pair hired a trainer to help them slim. Paul saw his body transformed by this 16-week programme, going from 17st to 14st 11lb (far right), while hairdresser Abi reduced her body fat from 31 per cent to 12 per cent (centre, right) by cutting out alcohol, sugar and junk food. They couple were determined to look good on their wedding day on May 24 (inset).

Xiaoling, eight, from Guilin City in southern China's Guangxi region, was born with Hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition which causes excess hair. She is covered from head to toe with coarse locks (pictured left, centre and inset), and is unable to wear skirts or shorts as she gets teased so often. There is no cure for the disease, but she believes laser treatment to get rid of the hair would allow her to live a normal life. But her family cannot afford the treatment, so must raise funds from friends and donations.

Kate Jakes, 22, from Birmingham, suffered acute liver failure in 2010 due to auto immune hepatitis - where an unknown virus causes the body to attack its own organs (she is pictured, left, before her liver failure). She was given 48 hours to live and needed a transplant immediately. But while an organ was successfully flown over from Ireland, her body rejected the organ. She underwent another transplant but once again, her body rejected it. She had yet another transplant and believed her troubles might be over. But this July she collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital with an E.coli infection (she is pictured, left, in hospital with husband, Gareth). The bacteria had caused a blood clot which had damaged her liver, meaning she now desperately needs her fourth transplant in five years. Her husband, Gareth, 26, says: 'Of course it's difficult not knowing what will happen, but we know the doctors are doing everything they can. We just have to hope.'

Maria Lally's daughter Rosie (pictured in pink) contracted chickenpox last month. The two-year-old, from Surrey, was hospitalised after developing an infection. But her big sister Sophia, aged five, (in blue) breezed through chickenpox two weeks previously.

Louise Bryant, 27, of Maidstone, began suffering sharp stomach pains, abnormal bleeding and difficulty breathing in March last year. Although she didn't think she was pregnant, she took a pregnancy test to rule this out, and it came back negative. But when doctors began to investigate her symptoms they made her take seven further pregnancy tests in 12 weeks as they tried to find the cause of her symptoms. Eventually, scan revealed she had a tumour the size of a football covering her entire ovary (circled in red, inset). It was successfully removed in a four hour operation (she is pictured in hospital, right, with husband Ben, 29). Now, she and Ben hope to start a family one day. She said: 'Hopefully the next pregnancy test I do will be a positive one.'

Alys Mann (pictured left and inset with her husband Aled), from Felinheli, North Wales, has dermatillomania, which causes her to spend up to three hours a day scratching and picking at her own skin (scars on her leg, right). The 34-year-old mother-of-two can spend up to three hours a day scratching herself and hopes to start therapy to get her habit under control.

Janis Burns, 34, who lives in London (pictured left), wrote an open letter to Dr Cameron hitting out at his plans to impose weekend work on doctors (pictured right). She says most doctors already work weekends, and many are paid less than newly-qualified Tube drivers, who earn £49,673, after four years of work. She added an Assistant Manager in Pret-a-Manger has a salary of £29,500 and a Manager £40,800. But many of her colleagues earn less than a manger, after nine years of work and study, which includes a five year university course.

Drina Rakovic, 41, (pictured before and after, left) gave Slim-Fizz a go. She's found her habits - and shape - have changed. 'Eating for me is social,' says the receptionist, who lives in Derby with husband Vlad, 41, an IT professional, son Tomi, ten, and daughter Maia, nine. 'We'll have family to visit and all sit around a big table of food. 'At 15st 11lb, I was hiding under size 22 clothes and getting out of breath climbing the stairs. I needed to stop mindless eating.' On her first day of taking Slim-Fizz, Drina had instant results. 'After dinner, there was no late-night snacking or sneaking leftovers.' Drina says it's worked wonders on her digestion. 'After a few days my stomach was flatter,' she says. 'The bloating, gassiness and water retention I used to suffer had gone.' She'd lost 7lb in ten days and felt fabulous. 'Seeing the weight loss on the scales spurred me on,' she says. 'After 20 days, I'd lost in total 11lb and people started to notice the difference. 'I've continued to lose it and now I weigh 14st 80lb. I haven't been this slim for 13 years. I'm a size 16-18 now.'

As I pulled up outside the rehab clinic - a country mansion in Barnsley - I felt a jolt of fear, says HAZEL WORRALL-JONES(pictured left and right at 16 - two years after she first started drinking alcohol). My husband David looked at me, concerned. 'You don't have to do this, you know,' he reassured me. But I was resolute: I wanted to come out of there cured. I'm 56, and had my first taste of alcohol at the age of 14 when I began dating my boyfriend Angus.

EXCLUSIVE: James Draper, 34, from London, underwent the 'direct hair implant' procedure in which follicles from the back of the head are transplanted on to the front and crown, without the need for surgery.( He is pictured top left before the treatment and bottom right afterwards.) The procedure, done in just a few hours, is performed under local anaesthetic. And, rather than being painful, it simply felt like he was being 'prodded in the scalp with a biro'. It involves extracting hair follicles individually from the donor area (the lower back of the head that's rarely affected by baldness), using a specifically-designed tool with a diameter of less than 1mm to avoid scarring. Then, the follicles are implanted one by one directly into the region suffering hair loss, creating cumulative density. A year on, James says he is 'delighted' with the results. 'It's only now, when I look back at old photographs of myself, that I realise what a difference it has made,' he said.

Rowena Kincaid from Cardiff (pictured) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. The former picture editor, 39, who now only has months to live, has created a bucket list and filmed a documentary about it. Rowena's bucket list includes buying a sports car and trying out a coffin dressed as Wonder Woman (left).

Sara McCarthy, 33, from Atherton, Greater Manchester, has two children. After the second child, she piled on four stone (left) and struggled with PND. But losing the weight (right) cured her depression. Pictured inset: Sara with her two children, Zachary and Kieron.

Lily and Grace Johnstone, who were born weighing just 2lb, spent seven weeks apart as they battled to stay alive at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. When they were placed back together in the incubator, the adorable twins reached out to each other. The healthy one-year-olds remain inseparable with their mother, Hannah Moore, putting their recovery down to their close bond.

Michelle Elman, 21, who is originally from Hong Kong and now lives in London, used to cover up scars on her stomach caused by operations she needed for various serious health problems, right. But she has now shared a picture of herself in just a bikini on Instagram, left, as she wants to 'stand up and be proud' of her body, scars and all.

Melanie Williams, 36, from Leeds, shared this picture (left) on her Facebook page to raise awareness of the importance of getting changes to the skin checked out by a doctor. 'See that on my thumb? Do you know what it is?' she wrote. 'It's skin cancer.' The young mother shared the picture, not to gain sympathy, she said, but rather to raise awareness.

The August issue of the fitness magazine features plus-size model Erica Schenk, 18, on its cover. Editor-in-chief Jessica Sebor said that not all runners are skinny, and she wants readers to be able to see themselves in the magazine's pages. The issue also includes a piece on athletic brands that are making more sizes for plus-size shoppers.