Prostate cancer decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for kidney cancer, diabetes mellitus, and prostate cancer due to potential exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. Additional development is needed to determine if the Veteran's submarines were within twelve nautical miles of mainland Vietnam during their service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a left leg disability, ischemic heart disease, prostate cancer, and neuroendocrine cancer, all of which were not found to be related to his military service or exposure to herbicides.

The Board has granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and prostate cancer due to herbicide exposure while serving at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, as well as erectile dysfunction, are also presumed to be related to his active duty service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer and exudative macular degeneration, finding no evidence to support these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Board denied service connection for bladder and prostate cancer, attributing the cancers to non-presumptive causes. The Veteran's bladder cancer was not linked to herbicide exposure, as there is no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and service. His prostate cancer was also not linked to service due to lack of diagnosis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease and lumbar spine arthritis, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted his claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction due to incomplete opinions regarding their relationship to service-connected conditions. The TDIU claim is also remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with these issues.

The Board has granted a rating of 40 percent for residuals of prostate cancer status post prostatectomy from April 23, 2019. The Veteran's symptoms include urinary frequency with daytime voiding intervals between two and three hours and awakening to void five or more times per night.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities due to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's conditions are presumed to be related to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction, finding no evidence of herbicide exposure in Thailand during his service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer was denied because the new evidence submitted did not show exposure to herbicide agents at U-Tapao RTAFB, which is required for presumptive service connection.

The Board denied service connection for prostate cancer with residual erectile dysfunction, incontinence, and frequent urination as the Veteran's prostate cancer is not caused by or related to service, including due to herbicide agent exposure.

The Veteran's service connection claims for aphasia, coronary artery disease, diabetes, glaucoma, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, left lower extremity, right upper extremity, left upper extremity, peripheral vascular disease of the right lower extremity, left lower extremity, right upper extremity, and left upper extremity are all denied.,The Veteran's service connection claim for prostate cancer is also denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer and SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ. The decision found that there was no evidence to support the Veteran's claim of exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides, and his prostate cancer was not related to service.

The Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective June 27, 2014. The case is remanded for further action regarding service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information about the Veteran's service periods and radiation exposure. The AOJ is instructed to obtain complete radiation information from the Army Dosimetry Center, including for his Reserve service period between December 1971 and April 1972, and request a new opinion on the claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer has been reopened and granted. The rating for PTSD with OCD, bereavement, and opioid and alcohol dependence in full sustained remission secondary to PTSD is being remanded due to the lack of recent VA treatment records.

The Veteran's prostate cancer and chronic kidney disease are granted as service-connected due to presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.,The claim for vertigo is remanded, requiring a medical opinion on its relationship to the Veteran's service-connected conditions or environmental exposures.

The Veteran's prostate cancer was previously rated at 100% disabling. The VA reduced this rating to 40% effective October 1, 2019. The Board has now restored the 100% rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer, adrenal nodules, and neurocognitive disorder are being remanded due to the need for further medical examination and opinion.