The Board denied the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that his squamous cell carcinoma and metastatic adenocarcinoma were not incurred or aggravated by service nor related to any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a link between the veteran's cancers and exposure to ionizing radiation during service. The Undersecretary of Health concluded it was unlikely that his multiple basal and squamous cell cancers and lung cancer could be attributed to his exposure to ionizing radiation in service.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2000
- Citation
- 0014648
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0014648.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for squamous cell carcinoma of the neck and bad teeth with dry mouth as secondary to squamous cell carcinoma of the neck have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service, including presumed herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death is related to his exposure to environmental toxins at Fort Riley and/or Fort Lewis, including herbicides, pesticides, or other toxic chemicals during his active-duty service. The AOJ must obtain further research and provide a VA clinician with the necessary information to determine if there is a link between the Veteran's lung cancer and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by type 2 diabetes mellitus and metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung, which were presumed to be due to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents in Guam. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for larynx cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, finding no evidence linking these conditions to military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
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