The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that the cancer which caused his death was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established as the disease (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) is not a condition presumed to have been incurred due to exposure to herbicides and there was no evidence of direct causation.
- Claimed conditions
- hypercalcemia, malignancy/nasopharyngeal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2003
- Citation
- 0304747
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0304747.
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 Veteran's cause of death was due to tongue cancer (metastatic) and hypercalcemia. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death as there is no evidence linking the tongue cancer or hypercalcemia to service, including exposure to herbicides or contaminated water from Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the claims for service connection for hypercalcemia and infections of the skin (staphylococcus aureus, status post insect bite) due to the Veteran's withdrawal request. The claims for hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II on a basis other than the PACT Act are remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of an examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions, as these symptoms may be related to other non-service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hypercalcemia/gout, finding that the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his active service is related to his current condition.
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