The Board has granted service connection for bladder cancer as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected nephrolithiasis, finding that her bladder cancer is at least as likely as not caused by her service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a nexus between the Veteran's service-connected nephrolithiasis and her bladder cancer, with conflicting opinions but more weight given to positive opinions from her treating urologists and medical literature supporting chronic bladder irritation as a risk factor for bladder cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- June 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20037349
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 20037349.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bladder cancer, erectile dysfunction, and gouty arthropathy due to outstanding VA treatment records not being obtained. The Veteran's request for a referral to a urologist for ED is also remanded. A VA medical opinion is needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's gouty arthropathy and his service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder and kidney cancer were dismissed as the Notice of Disagreement was not filed within one year of the denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder cancer and diabetes mellitus, Type II are remanded due to errors in the VA opinion regarding exposure to herbicides and toxic substances during his military service.
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