The Board denied service connection for bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cell carcinoma due to herbicide agent exposure as there is no positive association between such exposures and these conditions.
The deciding factor: There is no positive association between the Veteran's herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam and his diagnosed cancers (bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, and renal cell carcinoma).
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19180635
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic renal cell carcinoma, finding no evidence linking it to in-service toxic exposures.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for bladder cancer as there was no evidence of voiding dysfunction or renal dysfunction, and the GFR was over 90.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his pancreatic cancer was related to herbicide exposure during his service in Vietnam.
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