The Board has denied service connection for squamous cell carcinoma and actinic keratosis, finding that the Veteran's skin cancer is not related to his military service or herbicide exposure. The case was remanded for further development regarding ischemic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a diagnosis of chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne, which would allow for presumptive service connection based on Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran's skin cancer is more likely due to excessive sun exposure rather than herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20074818
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 appeal for service connection for skin cancer was dismissed due to untimeliness, while the claim for squamous cell carcinoma was granted.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the claim for service connection for headaches and remanded claims for service connection for various other conditions, including open angle glaucoma, sensorineural hearing loss, asthma, heart disease, bladder cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for squamous cell carcinoma, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his active service, including conceded in-service exposure to Agent Orange.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that squamous cell carcinoma was a complication of his service-connected hidradenitis suppurativa.
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