The Veteran's tongue cancer is remanded for a VA examination to determine if it may be related to his in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's tongue cancer was diagnosed after service, and the Board finds that there is insufficient evidence to decide the claim without an opinion on whether it is related to his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- tongue cancer
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2023
- Citation
- 23015939
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 23015939.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted effective September 18, 2023. Effective that date, the Veteran also becomes eligible for DEA benefits and has an effective date of service connection for various conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to tongue cancer (metastatic) and hypercalcemia. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death as there is no evidence linking the tongue cancer or hypercalcemia to service, including exposure to herbicides or contaminated water from Camp Lejeune.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims of service connection for a skin disability, throat cancer, tongue cancer, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as there was no valid claim or appeal pending at the time of the Veteran's death.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for tongue cancer has been withdrawn and dismissed by the Veteran.
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