The Board denied service connection for bladder cancer, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the veteran's condition and his active service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The VA physician opined that the veteran's bladder cancer was less likely as not related to herbicide exposure due to the lack of studies linking herbicides to bladder cancer since 2002, and the veteran's history of smoking which is a main risk factor for bladder cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2009
- Citation
- 0902802
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bladder cancer, finding it to be related to the Veteran's in-service herbicide exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, bladder cancer, due to in-service exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of bladder cancer to obtain an adequate VA TERA opinion and provide a clarifying opinion on the relationship between exposure to fuel or CARC and bladder cancer.
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