Prostate cancer decisions — 2022

The Board has restored the original 100% rating for service-connected prostate cancer, finding that the reduction was improper due to insufficient evidence showing improvement in the disability.

The Board has granted service connection for lung cancer, prostate cancer, and Parkinson's Disease as due to herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Thailand.

The Board has decided that a bladder disorder is related to the service-connected prostate cancer and remands for further action.

The Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The issues of PTSD, TDIU rating, and substitution eligibility are not before the Board at this time.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hypertension, prostate cancer residuals, erectile dysfunction, and skin disease due to presumed exposure at Camp Lejeune. The claims will be reviewed with updated VA treatment records and a VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining outstanding private treatment records and an examination to identify the symptoms and residuals attributable to his bladder versus prostate cancers. The matter of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) has also been deferred pending further development.

The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded due to a lack of an adequate medical opinion regarding the impact of VA's failure to notify him about his high PSA levels, which may have led to a radical prostatectomy instead of non-surgical options.

The Veteran's prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus are presumed to have been caused by exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand, leading to the grant of service connection for both conditions.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1318 due to not meeting the statutory duration requirements for a total disability rating at the time of death. The Board also found that service connection in the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded as there was no opinion regarding the causality of his death.

The Board has restored the 100 percent evaluation for prostate cancer status post radical prostatectomy, effective from January 1, 2022.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is presumed to have been caused by his exposure to herbicide agents during service, and the claim for residuals from prostate cancer is granted.

The Veteran's kidney disease is remanded for further examination and opinion.,The reduction of the 20 percent rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss was proper, but restoration of the rating is denied.,The reduction of the 40 percent rating for service-connected prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction was proper, but restoration of the rating is denied.

The Veteran's prostate cancer and residuals are rated at 20 percent for the period between December 1, 2013, and February 15, 2017. Effective February 15, 2017, he is entitled to a 40 percent rating. His erectile dysfunction secondary to prostate cancer remains noncompensable.

The Veteran's prostate cancer is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides during his service in Thailand, and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Veteran's claims for prostate cancer and PTSD have been granted, but his claim for brain tumor remains pending.,Service connection for meningitis is denied.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including headaches, allergic rhinitis, PTSD, erectile dysfunction, and prostate cancer residuals. The appeals for these issues are pending further development.

The Veteran's prostate cancer, coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus type II are presumed to have been incurred in service due to herbicide agent exposure. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's prostate cancer was not incurred during service and there is no evidence of herbicide exposure. The Board denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for coronary artery disease and prostate cancer due to a lack of verification regarding exposure at Fort Drum, New York. The Veteran's assertions include exposure to herbicide agents in service.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II and residuals of prostate cancer are granted as presumptively related to his service. The Veteran's pseudofolliculitis barbae (claimed as skin rash on face) is denied, but he is assigned a non-compensable rating.