The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service. No service-connected disability caused or contributed to the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities to his cause of death, nor is there evidence of a relationship between the veteran's left arm injury, malaria, and chronic sinusitis and the development of nasopharyngeal cancer or recurrent lymphoma.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, nasopharyngeal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2000
- Citation
- 0018749
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 0018749.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for blood cancer, leukemia, eye disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome, and thrombocytopenia due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service. The case is remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death due to recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to exposure to herbicides in service, including Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Veteran's red cell aplasia and myelodysplastic syndrome were not found to be related to service, specifically exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Board determined that the presumptive service connection for contaminated water exposure did not apply due to insufficient time spent at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is attributed to myelodysplastic syndrome, which the Board finds was not service-connected. The claim will be remanded for further investigation into whether exposure to herbicide agents during service caused or aggravated these conditions.
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