The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise with regard to whether the Veteran's gastric cancer onset during military service. As a result, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are provided both for and against the finding of onset during active service, but the VA pathologist's opinion does not contradict the treating physician's conclusion that the size of the tumor upon detection indicates it first manifested well before diagnosis in August 1994 (i.e., at least as early as during the one-year presumptive period ending in March 1994).
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic gastric cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2016
- Citation
- 1644323
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 1644323.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is due to diffuse bilateral pneumonia, which was found to be caused by exposure to herbicide agents in Iraq. The gastrointestinal cancer that led to his death is presumed to have been caused by the same exposure. Therefore, service connection for the cause of death is granted.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic gastric cancer, was related to his active-duty service at Camp Lejeune. The benefit of doubt has been applied in favor of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two issues: service connection for metastatic gastric cancer and the cause of death. The Veteran's claims are being returned to VA for additional development, including obtaining medical records and completing a Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA) memorandum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for metastatic gastric cancer and cause of death due to metastatic gastric cancer, as these issues are intertwined with each other. The claims will be addressed again after obtaining relevant medical records and providing an addendum opinion.
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