The Board has determined that the Veteran's pancreatic cancer, which should have been service-connected due to exposure to radiation during his military service, substantially contributed to his death. As a result, the claim for service connection for cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation during his military service and developed pancreatic cancer, which should have been service-connected due to this exposure. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the cancer substantially contributed to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2026
- Citation
- A26040054
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 A26040054.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for a survivor's pension was denied due to the appellant's countable income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the DIC benefits claim due to lack of substantial compliance with its March 2022 remand directives. The survivor's pension claim is denied as the Appellant's income exceeds the maximum annual death pension rate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death, sepsis, was not related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.,The service-connected diabetes mellitus did not contribute substantially or materially to the Veteran's death from sepsis.
- Denied
The Veteran's pancreatic cancer is not service-connected as it was not shown to have been present during his military service or within the applicable presumptive period. The Board found no evidence linking the current condition to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and thus denied the claim.
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