The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that his fatal cancer was not related to his military service and that his service-connected arteriosclerotic heart disease did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion concluded that the veteran's service-connected disability (arteriosclerotic heart disease) did not cause or contribute substantially or material to his death from metastatic lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- throat cancer, esophageal cancer, metastatic lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2002
- Citation
- 0211135
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 0211135.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to esophageal cancer, which is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's request for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in an April 2025 rating decision, as the decision was not a result of a valid appeal and did not award any past-due benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's prostate disability. The claims for esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus remain denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
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