PROSTATE GLAND DISEASE OF

Summary

The veteran, who served in the U.S. Air Force from November 1966 to March 1971, appeals the denial of service connection for prostate cancer and coronary artery disease (CAD). The veteran asserts exposure to herbicide agents, including Agent Orange, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Clark Air Force Base, Philippines. The Board noted the veteran's personnel records confirm his service as an Aerospace Ground Equipment Repairman and his stationed locations. Evidence submitted by the veteran included information about herbicide testing at Eglin AFB and a news article regarding exposure at Clark Field. Crucially, the RO had previously conceded herbicide exposure and the applicability of presumptions under 38 C.F.R. § 3.307, a finding the Board did not disturb. The RO also conceded current diagnoses of prostate cancer and CAD. Given the established herbicide exposure and the conceded diagnoses, the Board found both conditions presumed service-connected. Service connection for prostate cancer and CAD was therefore granted.

Rationale

Veteran served in the Air Force from Nov 1966 to Mar 1971.; Veteran asserts herbicide exposure at Eglin AFB and Clark Field.; RO conceded herbicide exposure and applicability of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 presumptions.; RO conceded current diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Full Decision Text

Citation Nr: A22017301
Decision Date: 08/30/22	Archive Date: 08/30/22

DOCKET NO. 220705-261469
DATE: August 30, 2022

ORDER

Service connection for prostate cancer, also claimed as elevated PSA levels, is granted.

Service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The evidence of record establishes that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents, and his diagnosed prostate cancer is presumed to have been caused by such exposure.

2. The evidence of record establishes that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents, and his diagnosed CAD is presumed to have been caused by such exposure. 

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. The criteria for service connection for prostate cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1116, 1154; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 

2. The criteria for service connection for CAD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1116, 1154; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1966 to March 1971.  

The prostate cancer claim started making its way to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) after an August 2015 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) Rating Decision denying entitlement to service connection.  The Veteran submitted a timely Notice of Disagreement in September 2015.  Before a Statement of the Case was issued, in March 2018 the Veteran elected the modernized review system by submitting a Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) opt-in election form.  38C.F.R. §19.2(d).  He requested to have all eligible issues currently on appeal processed as a Supplemental Claim.  Accordingly, an AMA rating decision was issued in April 2019.  The subsequent rating decision once again denied service connection for prostate cancer.  On appeal, the Board denied service connection in October 2019. In November 2019, the Veteran filed a supplemental claim for prostate cancer. 

The CAD claim started making its way to the Board with an appeal of an August 2018 Rating Decision denying entitlement to service connection.  The Veteran disagreed with the RO's determination, and a Statement of the Case was issued in October 2019 addressing the matters.  Thereafter, the Board denied the claim in June 2020. In August 2020, the Veteran filed a Supplemental Claim for CAD. The claim was denied in an August 2020 Rating Decision. 

Although the prostate cancer claim had yet to be decided by the RO, the Veteran filed a Supplemental Claim in September 2020 for both claims and then again in April 2021. An August 2021 Rating Decision denied the claims.  Another Supplemental Claim was filed in October 2021 and both claims were denied in January 2022. In February 2022, the Veteran sought a Higher Level Review for both claims.  Once again, in June 2022, the RO denied both claims in a Rating Decision. This is the decision on appeal.

In the July 2022 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal, the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.301.

The Veteran seeks service connection for prostate cancer and CAD.  He maintains that he was exposed to herbicide agents, including agent orange while in service.

Service connection may be established for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service.  See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303.  In order to prevail on the issue of service connection there must be competent evidence of a current disability; medical evidence, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service occurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and competent evidence of a nexus between an in-service injury or disease and the current disability.  Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent such as Agent Orange during active military, naval, or air service,
, or air service.  See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303.  In order to prevail on the issue of service connection there must be competent evidence of a current disability; medical evidence, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service occurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and competent evidence of a nexus between an in-service injury or disease and the current disability.  Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent such as Agent Orange during active military, naval, or air service, certain diseases are presumed to be service connected if the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6) are met, even though there is no record of the disease during service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). Prostate cancer and ischemic heart disease, to include coronary artery disease, are listed as diseases presumed to be service connected when there has been exposure to herbicide agents.

In the present case, the Veteran asserts herbicide exposure occurred at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and at Clark Field in the Philippines.  His personnel records show that he served in the Air Force as an Aerospace Ground Equipment Repairman. He was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base from August 1967 to April 1969, and at Clark Air Force Base from April 1969 to August 1970.

In May 2017, the Veteran submitted information from the VA that includes a weblink to a Department of Defense document regarding herbicide testing and storage outside of Vietnam.  It indicates that various herbicide agents had been tested at Eglin Air Force Base from 1962 to 1970.  A description of the project states that there was a two square mile test area.  A reference to a news article regarding herbicide exposure at Clark Air Force Base was also submitted.  This notes that benefits were being granted to active-duty forces who had been exposed to Agent Orange residue on C-123 planes that were used in the Vietnam War.  In a March 2018 statement, the Veteran submitted additional materials that note the testing at Eglin Air Force Base.  The Veteran has asserted that since herbicides were sprayed adjacent to these bases, it can be presumed that the herbicides were carried by wind and contaminated an area of at least 12 miles, consistent with the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (PL 116-23), which created a presumption of herbicide exposure for veterans who served in the offshore waters within 12 miles of Vietnam.  Moreover, in an October 2020 Rating Decision, the RO already determined that the Veteran was exposed to agent orange and the presumptions found in 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 are applicable; the Board will not disturb this favorable finding.  

With regard to a current disability, the RO already conceded that the Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer and coronary artery disease.  See June 2022 Rating Decision. These favorable findings will also not be disturbed. 

Therefore, the Veteran's prostate cancer and CAD are presumed service-connected, and the claims are granted.

 

 

 

T. SHERRARD

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P. Chalker, Associate Counsel

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.