The Veteran's service-connected residuals of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma status-post radiation treatment are found to have materially contributed to his death from liver metastases due to or a consequence of esophageal cancer.
The deciding factor: A private medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's history of radiation therapy for his service-connected non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at least as likely as not contributed to his esophageal cancer, which caused his demise.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, type II diabetes mellitus, residuals of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma status-post radiation treatment, complete loss of taste associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma residuals, chronic laryngitis associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma residuals
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2015
- Citation
- 1543118
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 1543118.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
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