The Veteran's esophageal cancer and its residuals are not service connected as they are presumed to have been caused by herbicide exposure during his Vietnam service. However, the medical evidence does not support a link between his current condition and his in-service exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's esophageal cancer is more likely related to his smoking history and nonservice-connected GERD than to his presumed herbicide exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, fatigue, memory loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2016
- Citation
- 1633199
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 1633199.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to tinnitus, is granted. The claims for service connection for hearing loss disability and a disability manifested by shortness of breath other than chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis are denied. The claims for service connection for an intestinal disability (diverticulitis), fatigue, hypertension, neck disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right hip disability, left hip disability, right foot pain, left foot pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and an acquired psychiatric disorder are all denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to esophageal cancer, which is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.
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