The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of prostate cancer, finding that the earliest possible effective date is May 17, 2001. The decision was based on the fact that the veteran did not file a formal or informal claim prior to this date and that his diagnosis of prostate cancer occurred in 1998.
The deciding factor: The effective date for service connection cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the claim due to the liberalizing law regarding presumptive service connection for prostate cancer, which was not in effect at the time of the veteran's initial claim.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2008
- Citation
- 0832529
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 0832529.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer but remanded the claim for PTSD due to insufficient verification of stressor incidents.
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