Prostate cancer decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, prostate cancer, kidney disease, and anemia (secondary to kidney disease) due to inadequate opinions in previous VA examinations. The Veteran's exposure to asbestos is presumed.

The Board denied the claim for service connection of prostate cancer, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal link between the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and his current prostate cancer.

The Veteran's service connection claims for diabetes mellitus type II, prostate cancer, and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood are granted. Service connection is denied for a dental condition, rheumatoid arthritis, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy.

The Veteran's death was caused by stroke, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to ionizing radiation exposure during military service. However, the Board finds that additional development is needed as there are no records indicating the Veteran participated in atmospheric nuclear testing or had any exposure to ionizing radiation.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the Veteran's prostate cancer disability.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence to support exposure to herbicides during service and thus no direct service connection. The Veteran's prostate cancer is not considered related to his military service.

The Board dismissed the appeal of a proposed reduction in the evaluation of prostate cancer from 100 percent to 40 percent because it was not an actual decision on the merits and thus lacked jurisdiction.

The Veteran's service connection claim for prostate cancer is granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Korea. The PTSD rating appeal is remanded as the VA examination file lacks records from a private physician who treated the Veteran.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is being remanded for a determination on whether it was aggravated by his service-connected duodenal ulcer, and if so, whether this aggravation is related to herbicide exposure or contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

The Board denied an increased rating higher than 40 percent for prostate cancer, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not warrant a higher rating based on urine leakage requiring the use of an appliance or absorbent materials changed more than four times per day.

The Board has remanded the claims of increased ratings for coronary artery disease, residuals of prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction due to insufficient evidence in the record.

The Veteran is seeking earlier effective dates for the ratings assigned for ischemic heart disease and prostate cancer. The Board finds that these claims are not warranted as the earliest date of receipt of claim or date entitlement arose is September 25, 2015.

The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, finding that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while stationed at U-Tapao Airfield in Thailand and thus meets the criteria for presumptive service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for prostate cancer and heart condition, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer on a presumptive basis due to herbicide agent exposure, and also granted entitlement to total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to multiple service-connected disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer as secondary to Agent Orange exposure, finding that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his time at Don Muang Air Force Base in Thailand.

The Veteran's previously service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment throughout the period on appeal, and he was granted TDIU effective September 23, 2015.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete medical opinions regarding his sinus condition and its relationship to his other claimed conditions.

Service connection for prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus is granted due to presumed exposure to herbicides in service.,Service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded as the issue was not addressed in this decision.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting information regarding the Veteran's prostate cancer status, and requests that VA medical records be obtained and a medical addendum be provided.