Prostate cancer decisions — 2015

The Board has remanded the case for additional development and medical inquiry, including obtaining addendum opinions from certain VA examiners.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including ischemic heart disease and prostate cancer, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since May 19, 2010. The Board finds that the evidence supports a finding of entitlement to TDIU.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for prostate cancer, which he claims is due to herbicide exposure during his time in Thailand. The VA has not been able to verify the details of his alleged service and exposure, so further verification is needed.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and medical treatment records. The Veteran's prostate cancer is being evaluated in relation to his military service, specifically his documented radiation exposure.

The Veteran's cause of death is prostate cancer, which was not service-connected. The appeal involves reopening the claim based on new evidence and determining if his exposure to ionizing radiation during service could be linked to his death.

The Veteran's prostate cancer residuals are rated at 60 percent, the maximum rating for voiding dysfunction. The Board finds that he is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities and grants entitlement to TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of prostate cancer are currently rated at 60 percent, effective March 13, 2012. The Board finds that the criteria for a higher evaluation have not been met.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for prostate cancer and type II diabetes mellitus, both of which were determined to be not related to his exposure to herbicides.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's erectile dysfunction is related to his service-connected prostate cancer, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional development of his service connection claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal due to his request for a Travel Board hearing. The issues of service connection for prostate cancer and coronary artery disease (claimed as ischemic heart disease) remain on appeal.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple conditions was denied. The Board found that hyperlipidemia, a laboratory test result, is not a disability under VA law and therefore cannot be granted.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, and prostate cancer were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure during service and the current disabilities are not related to service.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for residuals of prostate cancer from January 1, 2010 through April 3, 2013 was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show continual urine leakage or stress incontinence requiring absorbent materials changed more than four times per day.

The Board found that the reduction of the evaluation for prostate cancer from 100% to 20%, effective August 1, 2012, was proper.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA and private treatment records, as well as a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran set foot in Vietnam during his active service, which is sufficient to presume exposure to herbicides and thus presumptively connects his prostate cancer to service. As a result, the cause of his death from prostate cancer is presumed to be due to service.

The Board found that the reduction in rating from 100% to 20% was proper and denied restoration of a 100% rating for residuals of prostate cancer.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for testicular cancer, finding that there is no evidence of a direct relationship to his military service or secondary to his service-connected prostate cancer. The appeal was not about presumptive exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is granted service connection due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during his military service.,Service connection for the adrenal mass has been reopened based on new evidence, but its direct relationship to service remains unclear.