The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his colon cancer was not related to service or inservice exposure to ionizing radiation.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show a relationship between the veteran's service-connected right eye disorder and his fatal colon cancer. The Board also found no evidence linking the veteran's colon cancer to service or inservice exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Claimed conditions
- Adenocarcinoma of the colon, Metastases to brain, Metastases to lungs, Metastases to liver
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2003
- Citation
- 0305625
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 464 · Granted: 21% (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 0305625.
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 Board has remanded two issues for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for mixed germ cell tumor of the right testis and adenocarcinoma of the colon, both on a direct basis without presumptive exposure. The Veteran's claims are pending prior to the enactment of the PACT Act.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that his exposure to Agent Orange during service in Vietnam caused his colon cancer.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death and for DIC benefits, finding that there was no evidence linking his colon cancer to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for the cause of his death and for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 due to lack of evidence showing a causal link between any disability and service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
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