The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to esophageal cancer, metastatic carcinoma of stomach possibly of hepatic origin and/or pancreatic carcinoma, and carcinoma of the head of the pancreas as not being incurred in or aggravated by service nor presumed to have been incurred in service as a result of exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the cause of death was related to the veteran's exposure to herbicides during his Vietnam service.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, metastatic carcinoma of stomach possibly of hepatic origin and/or pancreatic carcinoma, carcinoma of the head of the Pancreas
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0629440
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 0629440.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection due to herbicide exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a new medical opinion to address the etiology of the Veteran's esophageal cancer, considering his in-service herbicide agent exposure and service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder.
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