The Veteran's cause of death, head and neck cancer, is not service-connected as it was neither incurred nor aggravated by his military service. The Board found no evidence linking the cancer to any in-service condition or exposure.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established due to lack of evidence showing a link between the Veteran’s in-service diagnosis of sarcoidosis and head and neck cancer, or that he was exposed to herbicide agents during his service at Fort Gordon.
- Claimed conditions
- head and neck cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20040140
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 20040140.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was due to carcinoma esophagus, with head and neck cancer noted as significant conditions. The Board found that the evidence does not support a connection between in-service herbicide agent exposure and the Veteran's cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's head and neck cancer, diagnosed as mammary analogue secretory carcinoma, was not incurred in service and is not presumed to have been incurred in service. The Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, head and neck cancer, was previously granted service connection. Therefore, the Board has granted service connection for the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death due to metastatic skin cancer and head and neck cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to military service or any service-connected disabilities.
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