The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of brain cancer because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran’s brain cancer is at least as likely as not related to his Agent Orange exposure while serving in Vietnam. The Veteran's service personnel records show he was stationed in Vietnam during active military service.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not provide a clear opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's brain cancer due to lack of VA examination and conflicting medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- brain cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2018
- Citation
- 18142747
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 18142747.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for lung cancer and brain cancer, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for accrued benefits purposes.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for lung cancer and brain cancer as secondary to lung cancer due to an inadequate VA opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for brain cancer to obtain additional evidence regarding potential in-service radiation exposure and a medical opinion on its relation to his condition.
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