The Veteran died from metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer. The Board found no evidence to support a causal connection between the Veteran's death and his active service, including his cervical spine disability, PTSD, or diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: No medical evidence established that the Veteran's death was caused by any event or disability incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer, cervical spine disability, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2018
- Citation
- 1805867
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 1805867.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and bilateral knee strain to obtain additional medical opinions.
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