VA PRESUMPTIVE: Service Connected Presumptive Conditions [Diseases]

Many Veterans Face a Higher Risk for Cancer Due to Exposures. Are You One of Them?

When a Veteran returns to civilian life, it can be a challenge. This is especially true if he or she has been diagnosed with a new disease or has had a disease worsen during service. Typically, the first step is to see if there is a connection between the time of service and the disease.

This list includes, but is not limited to three places and time periods with VA presumptive diseases that are service-connected:

  • Camp Lejeune: The U.S. Marine Corps Base located on the coast of North Carolina has had several VA presumptive diseases connected to water contamination in the area from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The drinking water in this area was contaminated with several different chemicals. Any Veteran who served 30 days or more at this camp had the potential of developing one of the following conditions and is eligible for service-connected benefits:
    • Adult leukemia
    • Aplastic anemia
    • Bladder cancer
    • Kidney cancer
    • Liver cancer
    • Multiple myelomas
    • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
    • Parkinson’s disease
  • McMurdo Station: This U.S. Navy station in Antarctica had a nuclear leak from a small nuclear station that operated there. The station has since been decommissioned, but Veterans who served here from 1962 to 1979 could have been exposed to ionizing radiation, causing many forms of cancer. Following are types of cancer that could be service-connected for these Veterans:
    • Cancer of the:
      • Bone
      • Brain
      • Breast
      • Colon
      • Lung
      • Pancreas
      • Skin
      • Small intestine
      • Thyroid
      • Urinary tract
    • All forms of leukemia
    • Tumors of the brain and central nervous system.

Keep in mind, McMurdo Station is just one of several locations and ways a Veteran could have been exposed to ionizing radiation.

  • Iran-Iraq 1980 and World War II: Mustard gas is sulphur mustard and lewisite is an organic compound that is another mustard agent but contains arsenic. Both of these agents are yellow-brown and have the smell of mustard. There are multiple ways to get service-connected for certain diseases if your full body was exposed to these agents. Some of these diseases include:
    • Chronic conjunctivitis
    • Keratitis
    • Nasopharyngeal cancer
    • Laryngeal cancer
    • Lung cancer (not mesothelioma)
    • Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
    • Emphysema
    • Asthma
    • Bronchitis

If you are a Veteran and have been diagnosed with a disease, you may be eligible for service-connected benefits. We have VA team members who are extremely knowledgeable about these cases and ready to help you get the resolve you deserve. If you are ready to fight for your benefits, contact Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, at 877-526-3457 or visit our website.

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