The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of primary lung cancer, status post left pneumonectomy and thoracotomy was denied as the earliest effective date assignable is May 29, 1997.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the veteran's service connected lung disability is May 29, 1997, which is the later of the two dates (date of claim and date entitlement arose).
- Claimed conditions
- primary lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 18, 2000
- Citation
- 0018808
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0018808.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is remanded due to conflicting opinions on the relationship between his metastatic kidney cancer and service, including Agent Orange exposure. The issue of whether a primary lung cancer at the time of death was a significant contributing factor to his death remains unresolved.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for heart disease, anoxic encephalopathy, and primary lung cancer have been denied. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to service or the in-service asbestos exposure.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's lung cancer, which caused his death, is presumed to have been incurred in service due to exposure to herbicide agents. The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the lung cancer was a primary cancer and granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The Board also found no evidence of primary lung cancer and concluded that the esophageal cancer did not result from Agent Orange exposure.
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