The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's rectal cancer, which caused his death, is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: A medical opinion is needed as VA has not yet assessed the potential link between the Veteran's rectal cancer and in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- rectal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072158
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence linking rectal cancer to his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for rectal cancer and various types of neuropathy, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active duty service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for rectal cancer, finding that the evidence did not support a link between his in-service radiation exposure and his current condition. The claim for service connection for mitral valve prolapse was remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for rectal cancer, finding that the Veteran's exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during active duty was at least as likely as not related to his diagnosis.
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