The Board found that the veteran's fatal thyroid cancer was not caused or substantially contributed to by his military service, including exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The cause of death is presumed to be unrelated to his service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's metastatic thyroid cancer was related to his service-connected rheumatoid arthritis or any other service-related factor.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic thyroid cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2007
- Citation
- 0700540
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 0700540.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appeal for severance of DIC benefits and discontinuance of DEA benefits, finding that there was not clear and unmistakable error in the original grant of these benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address the Veteran's metastatic thyroid cancer and its potential link to Agent Orange exposure during his service.
- Denied
The Veteran's daughter is seeking to extend her DEA benefits due to cancer, but the Board denied this claim as her 31st birthday has passed and VA cannot grant an extension on an equitable basis.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's lung cancer is not service-connected, as it was determined to be metastatic thyroid cancer and not a primary respiratory tract cancer. The medical evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's current lung nodules and his time in service.
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