The Veteran's cause of death was metastatic esophageal cancer. The Board has decided to remand the case for a VA medical opinion on whether his exposure to herbicides caused his lung and esophageal cancers.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not provide sufficient information to determine if the Veteran’s exposure to Agent Orange caused his esophageal cancer, which was the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19163298
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 19163298.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and for metastatic esophageal cancer, liver cancer, and lymph node cancer as they were not related to the Veteran's service or presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a mental disorder and metastatic esophageal cancer due to insufficient evidence on the etiology of these conditions. The Veteran's aircraft maintenance duties are alleged to be related to his current health issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus is found to have contributed substantially or materially to his death from metastatic esophageal cancer, and the Board grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
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