The Veteran's throat cancer residuals are denied as service connection is not established due to lack of evidence linking the condition to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran’s squamous cell carcinoma has an origin consistent with respiratory cancer or can be otherwise directly related to his presumed herbicide exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- throat cancer residuals
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19143068
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a review to properly determine the severity of the Veteran's throat cancer residuals, including peripheral neuropathy, loss of dentition, dry mouth, hoarseness, GERD, shortness of breath, left pneumothorax, and rhonchi conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions to correct duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional medical opinions and evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's left eye condition is related to service, as it found that the condition did not preexist service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
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