The Board found that the veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil, actinic keratosis of arms, ears and head, and numbness of the left foot are not related to his military service or exposure to Agent Orange. As a result, these claims were denied.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the veteran's current conditions to his military service or exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of left tonsil, actinic keratosis of arms, ears and head, numbness of left foot
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2007
- Citation
- 0708554
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 0708554.
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 has decided to remand the case due to a lack of a VA opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of left tonsil, status post radiation. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion as to whether there is a nearly equal or greater chance that the Veteran's condition is causally related to service, including presumed exposure to herbicides.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil or its residuals was denied as there is no evidence that the condition began during service, is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, and is not a result of smoking secondary to service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional medical examination and to obtain missing service treatment records.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil, hypothyroidism secondary to cancer treatment, and hypogeusia (diminished sense of taste) due to radiation therapy. The issues related to fibrosis of the neck, dysphagia, and caries due to dry mouth are remanded.
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