Va Links Brain Cancer To Agent Orange Exposure In Recent Court Decision

[Tbird]

It is notoriously difficult for veterans to get their disabilities connected to their military service - even when the connection is apparent. In this unique case, the Department of Veterans Affairs was made to concede a very important connection and gave justice to a struggling widow. Read Full Story

[john999]

People think we are paranoid for thinking the government is just waiting for us to die. It may be cynical, but it is true. If they cared they would not have stalled on so many presumptives for 40 years.

[Berta]

Namtanker-I responded to your post in another topic here this AM:

"How can we get the VA to come clean and help these Nam Vets and their wives?" The BVA widow had 2 IMOs that proved her husband's brain cancer was from AO.

Of course VA wont accept that decision as support for another vet's claim.

But it shows that an IMO ,while expensive, could be the best investment a veteran can make on their claim.

I am AO widow and proved my husband had an AO condition that the VA never diagnosed or treated at all during 6 years of VA care which contributed to his death.

Nothing is impossible.

[SP4RVN1971]

Berta, How can we the people get VA to come clean and contact all Vietnam vets alive and wivies? They knew of the problem for 40-50 year and they knew who went to vietnam! AO has been around before I was born. They could of contacted us

[Berta]

The Project SHAD vets went through the same thing. VA still will not recognize any disability in a SHAD as directly due to SHAD.

VA had a list of SHAD vets and in that case the VA contacted them for information on their disabilities some years ago. There was not a single disability they had in common that would indicate a commonality factor.

Commonality factor -

Example

If you have 100 vets who were in Panama for example for a certain same time frame and served in units within a few miles of each other and got a very rare tropical disease that was manifested inservice then one could believe the VA might somehow decide any Panama vet who served in this locale during some specific dates will be SCed for the tropical disease and residuals and make that a presumptive SC.

I believe this was the single factor lacking in the case of SHAD vets, plus they were not united enough to attempt to hire an environmental expert independent of the VA who might have helped them prove SHAD caused their problems.

If you get anyone seated on the H VAC or S VAC (Veterans Affairs Committees) to propose an amendment to the AO presumptive list and then start to contact every Senator and Congressman/woman in the country for support there is always a possibility that VA will ask IOM to study more cancers and their potential association to AO.

Since I have been around the VA block the AO presumptive list grew from only 2 AO presumptives to quite a list now to include about 34 forms of soft tissue sarcoma cancers and Hairy cell B.

You could contact NVLSP as well (they won the Beverly Nehmer AO case)to see if they could advise more as to the future of the AO presumptive list.

I always say nothing is impossible.I recall discussing here with vets many many years ago at hadit how VA would never SC IHD to AO.

I am still stunned that they did that.

You have a list and maybe all of these vets and their families would be willing to help contact Congressmen/Women and Senators to sponsor a bill to put Brain cancers on the AO list.Blue Water Navy VVA had plenty of sponsors for BWN AO legisation but it still didnt get resolved fairly. This stuff takes a lot of time ( a disabled vet's worse enemy is time ) and plenty of research and work.

John 999 is right:

"Consider once again that the VA does not do their own research on AO. That is done by IOM when they get the grant money. I think every cancer should be presumptive for AO since AO contains dioxins. What I think does not count. If the whole presumptive process goes slowly thousands of RVN vets willl be buried without compensation. This makes many people happy."

Every cancer. He is RIGHT!

Edited September 21, 2011 by Berta

[SP4RVN1971]

thanks for the information, I will go way quietly!

[Berta]

go away quietly???????

You should fight like Hell on this issue. Start a web site specifically for your cause and that could gather more vets for your list.

Get some articles into the newspapers asking for vets to contact you who are willing to begin this fight.

Don't get me wrong- BWN got VERY far on the AO issue -and accomplished a lot --- they just did not get what they wanted-Equity for all BWN vets. They are still fighting for that.

I have fought the VA with a claim even my former rep said was Impossible!

It took 7 years for an award and almost another year to get my money and this was only one of Many battles I have had for last 17 years with VA.I mean battles. I won all of those claims.

The VA wanted me to go away quietly too.

I say Bull s--t to that!

I know this type of stuff is very difficult for any vet with disabilities.But I also know many disabled vets who have given the VA quite a ride for their money.Many of those vets are right here at hadit helping other vets.

I am sure you have accessed the STS list of AO cancers-there are about 34 of them-and in some cases brain cancer could be a metasization of an initial potential SC cancer that a vet could have overlooked in their med recs.

Also there are other possible causes of brain cancers that could possibly be linked to service as service could put someone at exposure to numerous carcinogenics as well as AO.

These claims would take strong IMOs.