The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be metastatic pancreatic cancer, which is service-connected due to his exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The Board found that the diabetes mellitus did not contribute substantially or materially to the cause of death and granted service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions were evenly weighted, with one suggesting no aggravation by diabetes and another concluding it was at least as likely as not that diabetes aggravated the pancreatic cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic pancreatic cancer, type II diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2014
- Citation
- 1436194
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 1436194.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.,Given the grant of TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as total (PTSD) and additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all appeals regarding his service-connected conditions and related disability ratings, effective as of March 16, 2026.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, sinusitis, hypertension, and type II diabetes mellitus due to a lack of current diagnoses or evidence linking these conditions to his active-duty service.
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