The Board denied the claim, finding that the medical evidence did not support a causal relationship between the veteran's bladder cancer and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding. The VA medical expert reviewed the records and concluded that the veteran's bladder cancer did not contribute significantly to his death.
The deciding factor: The reviewing physician found no significant contribution of the veteran's bladder cancer to his death, attributing it instead to post-operative complications and other factors.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer, Gastrointestinal bleeding, Renal failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2002
- Citation
- 0202686
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 0202686.
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: Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bladder cancer, erectile dysfunction, and gouty arthropathy due to outstanding VA treatment records not being obtained. The Veteran's request for a referral to a urologist for ED is also remanded. A VA medical opinion is needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's gouty arthropathy and his service-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder and kidney cancer were dismissed as the Notice of Disagreement was not filed within one year of the denial.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
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