Thyroid Nodule And Pgw

[yelloownumber5]

Is there any way to link the a thyroid nodule (maybe it is more just was found but had not seen a specialist yet)to the PGW to support a claim?

[vetwife]

My husband is GW1 vet & also has thyroid nodule. Checkout o.k. (not cancerous) , but now wonder if this is common among GW vets?

[cloudcroft]

That's good news, that it's not cancerous, but remember more than 90% of them are benign...which is also good news to those who have them.

As for whether they can be GW related and therefore SC-able, I don't think there is any conclusive evidence they are and so proving otherwise will be extremely tough and eventually unlikely, mainly because other vets not even over there in the SandBox (SB) can have them, too. So how to prove that YOUR particular nodule was from being there. IIRC, I read something about SB vets having only a slightly higher level of Thyroid problems than non-SB vets...I suspect that's just not convincing enough for the VA.

I don't know how common it is among GW vets, but if I had one and wanted to get it SCed, I'd do LOTS of research on it, become the best "expert" I could about Thyroid Nodules, and then be able to give a better answer, AND judge my chances for success were I to file a VA Benefits claim to get it SCed. If the nodule was benign, however, the rating might be only 0%. If it became cancerous later on, of course the rating would be higher. If operated on and removed, then only the residuals would be rated. Regardless, I don't see a very high disability % rating given here even if it were able to be SCed but that's just IMO.

As with the AO issue from VietNam -- it took a LONG time to get enough evidence to show links between AO (dioxin) and certain ailments -- maybe in time GW vets will have the links they need as more medical evidence becomes available. But as with us RVN vets, you'd have to live long enough to get the benefit.

-- John D.

My husband is GW1 vet & also has thyroid nodule. Checkout o.k. (not cancerous) , but now wonder if this is common among GW vets?

Edited September 24, 2007 by cloudcroft

[vetwife]

Good information, thanks.

We have not made a claim on the nodule

But after I saw this post I begain to wonder if thyroid nodules are common in GWV like the lypomas are?