The Board has determined that the veteran's prostate cancer and type II diabetes mellitus were not incurred in service, as there is no evidence of these conditions during or within one year after service. The veteran did not have service in Vietnam and thus cannot be presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. As a result, the claim for service connection for both conditions has been denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's prostate cancer and type II diabetes mellitus were not incurred during his military service due to lack of evidence in service records and no credible evidence linking these conditions to service or exposure to herbicide agents. The veteran did not have service in Vietnam, which is required for presumptive service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Prostate cancer, Type II diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2003
- Citation
- 0335923
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 0335923.
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 granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that Type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure during service, contributed substantially to his demise.
- Granted
The Board restored the Veteran's 100 percent disability rating for his service-connected prostate cancer, effective September 1, 2024.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's in-service toxic exposure risk activities, including jet fuel and other fuels, to determine if they contributed to his cause of death.
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