The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer due to renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to bone and lung, was not caused or contributed substantially or materially by his military service. The evidence did not establish a medical relationship between the Veteran's cancer and his time in service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is no persuasive medical evidence or opinion linking the Veteran's terminal renal cancer to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal Cell Cancer, Metastatic Lung Cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2015
- Citation
- 1518285
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1518285.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty to assist omissions and the case is remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that neither his adrenal cortical cancer nor metastatic lung cancer were caused by or aggravated by service. The underlying primary adrenal cancer was not among those diseases presumed due to herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed substantially or materially to his cause of death, specifically by causing or permanently aggravating his metastatic lung cancer leading to fatal cardiac arrest. The evidence is at least in equipoise on this issue.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's kidney loss due to renal cell cancer is not considered a result of VA care, and the Board finds that there was no fault on the part of VA. The claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is denied.
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