Prostate cancer decisions — 2012

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is considered a contributory cause of his death, with the VA physician finding that it was at least as likely as not (50 percent or more probable) that the Veteran's PTSD contributed to his death.

The Veteran's prostate cancer was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and there is no evidence of herbicide exposure. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Veteran is over 65 years old, had more than 90 days of active service during the Vietnam era, and has a combined disability rating of over 60 percent for pension purposes. Therefore, he meets the criteria for special monthly pension at the rate set out under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1521(e).

The Board found that the service-connected prostate cancer did not cause or contribute to the Veteran's death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ were denied as there is no evidence that the conditions existed prior to October 22, 2009.

The Board found that the Veteran's prostate cancer and cardiorespiratory disorder were not service-connected, as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The cause of death, cardiorespiratory failure due to pneumonia with metastatic prostate cancer, was attributed to non-service-related causes.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant, and no jurisdiction remains for the merits of the claim.

The cause of the Veteran's death was not incurred in or aggravated by active service, as there is no evidence linking his prostate cancer to exposure during military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, which he claims is due to chemical exposure during the Persian Gulf War, has been remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The case will be returned to the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office (RO) for further development and consideration.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected prostatitis caused or aggravated his current prostate cancer, and grants service connection for prostate cancer as due to service-connected prostatitis.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is being remanded for further examination and analysis due to the lack of evidence linking it to his service, specifically Vietnam-era exposure. The case will be reviewed again after additional development.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for prostate cancer, which he claims is due to exposure to Agent Orange while stationed in Thailand. The VA has not verified his claimed herbicide exposure and needs to take further steps as per VA Fast Letter 09-20.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining service treatment records and identifying dates of active duty or training periods. The appellant's claim will be reconsidered based on the additional evidence.

The Veteran requested to reopen his claim for service connection for prostate cancer, including due to exposure to Agent Orange. New evidence was submitted but the Board found that it did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim and thus did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of a radical prostatectomy, concluding that his symptoms did not warrant a higher evaluation based on voiding dysfunction or renal dysfunction.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was granted with a 100% rating effective January 23, 2007. Service connection was also established for hypertension and diabetes mellitus on the same date.

The Board found that the Veteran's residuals of prostate cancer did not meet or more nearly approximate the criteria for a higher initial rating in excess of 20 percent under Diagnostic Code 7528, and thus denied his claim.

The Board found that the reduction of the evaluation for residuals of prostate cancer from 100 percent to 40 percent was proper, effective June 1, 2009.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the disability rating from 100% to 10% for residuals of prostate cancer status-post prostatectomy with erectile dysfunction was proper. The Veteran's condition improved, warranting a lower rating.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is not found to be related to service, including exposure to ionizing radiation.