The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting evidence regarding service connection for skin cancers, including as due to exposure in service to Agent Orange. The appellant was exposed to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam and developed skin cancers in 1998-99. The Secretary of VA has indicated that a presumption of service connection based upon exposure to herbicides used in Vietnam is not warranted for any form of skin cancer. A medical opinion is needed to determine the relationship between the appellant's post-service skin cancers and his exposure to Agent Orange or solar radiation.
The deciding factor: The conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between the appellant's post-service skin cancers and his exposure to Agent Orange or solar radiation requires a medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- skin cancers, basal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2004
- Citation
- 0403376
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 0403376.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
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- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for basal cell carcinoma and a higher initial disability rating of 70 percent for other specified trauma-and-stressor-related disorder, while denying increased ratings for lumbosacral strain, right lower radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss, chronic rhinitis, tension headaches, and mitral valve prolapse.
- Partly granted
The Board granted reconsideration of the issues of entitlement to service connection for basal cell carcinoma, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral upper and lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The claims for these conditions were previously denied but are now being readjudicated due to new evidence.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and obstructive sleep apnea based on toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) during the Veteran's service.
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