The Board has granted service connection for small cell cancer as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's small cell cancer was caused by his GERD, and after resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that his small cell cancer was caused by his service-connected GERD.
The deciding factor: The private opinions linking the Veteran’s small cell cancer to his GERD and the journal articles supporting this opinion were considered, leading to a finding of equipoise regarding causation.
- Claimed conditions
- small cell cancer
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 6, 2018
- Citation
- 18132279
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 18132279.
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.
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- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
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