The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his rectal cancer was related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion from Dr. C.K., a radiation oncologist, provided detailed evidence linking the Veteran's rectal cancer to in-service toxic exposures, outweighing previous negative opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- Rectal cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25046425
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25046425.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 death, finding that the Veteran's rectal cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were not related to his exposure to herbicide agents during military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development to determine his eligibility for Family Caregiver services under the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back disability, rectal cancer, and acquired psychiatric disability due to conflicting opinions and need for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a low back disability, rectal cancer, and an acquired psychiatric disability due to conflicting opinions and lack of sufficient evidence.
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