The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence to connect any of the conditions listed on the Veteran's death certificate to service or to a service-connected disability. The Board also found that prostate cancer did not cause or contribute to colon cancer and metastasis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that prostate cancer did not cause or contribute to colon cancer, as they were separate and distinct from one another with different cell lines and locations.
- Claimed conditions
- metabolic acidosis, hepatic failure, metastatic adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179776
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 the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his exposure to asbestos during active duty was a contributing factor.
- Partly granted
The previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is reopened and granted in part, while other claims are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and the claim for accrued benefits due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the colon is remanded for further review due to a lack of consideration of his exposure to ionizing radiation from x-ray machines during service and the factors outlined in VA regulations.
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