The Board denied service connection for kidney cancer, status post right nephrectomy as it is not shown to be related to the Veteran's service or caused by his service-connected chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The deciding factor: The July 2023 VA examiner provided a negative nexus opinion after considering all applicable toxic exposure risk activities and the Veteran's smoking history, concluding that kidney cancer is less likely than not caused by the indicated toxic exposure risk activity(ies).
- Claimed conditions
- kidney cancer, status post right nephrectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2024
- Citation
- A24068596
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to obtain a new medical opinion due to errors in previous examinations.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for kidney cancer, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for kidney cancer was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for kidney cancer on a direct basis, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's kidney cancer and his military service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
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