Increased Rating With Larynx Cancer

[Bryce]

Hello, I'm new to this site, so I hope someone can give me some insight into my situation. I have been rated 50% disabled in the 90's for back problems asociated with a service connected disability (Disc surgery performed at U.S.A.F. hospital). I now have recently had surgery for Larynx cancer and will be meeting with my local V.A R.O. in early June. I read that this cancer is commonly rated at 100% initially and then (possibly) reduced as treatment results are clearified. Is this so? If I have an initial rating of 100% for the Larynx cancer what does that do to my prior 50% rating ..and I guess I would like to know if that then equalls 150% or some adjusted % what happens when/if my cancer rating is reduced to, say 50%, as treatment progresses. or perhaps 30% as could be possible? Thank you for your' information..BD

[cjevans]

Bryce....you will not be able to tell how much of your voice you will be loosing until well after all your radiation treatments. My husband had surgery and radiation back in September 2001. He lived with the after effects of radiation 8 years after surgery. It sounds like your case is not as severe as my husband's. This is a good thing for you. He had four trachs in 8 years and two years ago it was permenent. Didn't loose voice until 6 years after surgery. There is no way to tell how much of your voice you will possibly loose.

Your claim though is not retroactive from your first diagnosis. It is not effective until you put in claim and ask for separate rating for cancer of the larynx. That's why I was asking why are you waiting until June 2nd to get this going? Your VASO will help file the rating. Hope you have all your records for the cancer of the larynx and your radiation treatments. I wouldn't worry about getting any of your rating reduced. Get your claim going first....I wish you luck and if I can help any more please let me know. Cindy

[Bryce]

Bryce....you will not be able to tell how much of your voice you will be loosing until well after all your radiation treatments. My husband had surgery and radiation back in September 2001. He lived with the after effects of radiation 8 years after surgery. It sounds like your case is not as severe as my husband's. This is a good thing for you. He had four trachs in 8 years and two years ago it was permenent. Didn't loose voice until 6 years after surgery. There is no way to tell how much of your voice you will possibly loose.

Your claim though is not retroactive from your first diagnosis. It is not effective until you put in claim and ask for separate rating for cancer of the larynx. That's why I was asking why are you waiting until June 2nd to get this going? Your VASO will help file the rating. Hope you have all your records for the cancer of the larynx and your radiation treatments. I wouldn't worry about getting any of your rating reduced. Get your claim going first....I wish you luck and if I can help any more please let me know. Cindy

[Bryce]

Cindy, I called the VA VASO immediatly ( the day or two) after I was diagnosed with this cancer, told them what I wanted to do..file a claim for Larynx cancer..and the person answering the phone, said the earliest they could see me was 2 June so I set up the appointment for then. Did she fail to record this as my claim date then? I don't know, but if what you say about filing the claim right away, she caused me to miss that file date. Or would they record the request date for the claim from first contact? ie..that phone call? I will be going there for my appt and I would like to know what I can do to get THIS straightened out..or am I overracting? Thanks again for your interest and help..BD

[cjevans]

Bryce,

I believe that your phone call is NOT a date for your claim. You must fill out a claim form and sign it. My husband had his larynx cancer surgery in September 2001. We DIDN'T Know about Agent Orange Presumption list until BY ACCIDENT in January of 2008!!! Two days after I found out I went and filed a claim on January 28, 2008. They WOULD not go back to when my husband had his larynx surgery to 2001. Phone call is not sufficient for a file date. I'm sure people here on HADIT can confirm this. We missed out on almost seven years of compensation. We filed in January of 2008 and received our first check in November 2008. My husband collected for five months then passed away a month ago.

In fact the VSO I talked with on the phone sent me the claim form and I got to read over, fill out what I could then went in and he helped me with the rest. I already had about 200 pages of medical records, etc., to go along with our claim. I didn't know about HADIT until AFTER we received our first compensation check. I went about the claim pretty much by myself.