The Board denied service connection for bladder cancer and prostate cancer, finding that the Veteran was not exposed to ionizing radiation in service and his cancers were more likely related to smoking.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found no link between the Veteran's cancers and service due to lack of exposure to ionizing radiation and provided evidence supporting a smoking-related etiology for both conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer, Prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- A19000325
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bladder cancer, diabetes mellitus, type 2, and an acquired psychiatric disability (unspecified depressive disorder), but denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss.
- Granted
The Board restored the Veteran's 100 percent disability rating for his service-connected prostate cancer, effective September 1, 2024.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a higher disability rating for PTSD and granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, while denying service connection for prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, and nuclear sclerosis and dry eye syndrome.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and higher initial rating were dismissed due to concurrent election of review options.
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