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Actinic Keratosis

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casaderussell

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Does anyone know if or how Actinic Keratosis gets a rating?

I didn't even know what this was until just after I got out. I am a fair skinned red head. I had been seen for severe dry skin on at least one occasion in the last 5 years. No docter ever mentioned to me that these dry flaky spots are precancerous. There is a term that can scare your pants off.

My civilian doctor said, "Has anyone talked to you about those dry spots on your hands and arms?" I said, "No. What are they?" He explained then set up a treatment schedule. Since then I've had 18 spots removed and a chemical skin treatment done to my face. All this started in the first year I was out of the Navy.

My issue is that actinic keratosis does not start over night or even in one year. It takes decades to develop and is caused by prolonged exposure to the sun. Now I worked in submarines, but we always stood topside watch in short sleeves with no shade and no sun screen. Norfolk, VA and southeast, GA get real sunny and hot.

How do I fight for a rating when the condition did not present itself until after I was out?

Thanks.

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New to site but have already posted initial inquiry under PNC 1/23/16.  Just wondering if CASDERUSSELL from 2012 ever got approved for in-service.  Almost same situation.  I was admin specialist for USMC and USN.  Was mostly indoors but always outside for PT, formations, etc. For almost 14 years of my almost 20 years total active duty I was stationed in geographical locations where over-exposure to sun was highly probable.

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Managed to get 0% skin conditions for Actinic Keratosis and Squamous Cell with 30% scarring secondary last year. I'm a Vietnam era vet - served from 62 - 70. I submitted 7 years of of both VA and outside medical treatment records, pictures of me working in shorts with no shirt on a flight line, a picture of Squamous Cell on my lip five years after discharge, a DBQ filled out by my outside doc, and a personal statement that I noticed a crack in my lip that heal and then crack again and again in 1970, and a statement that I worked most of my service years outside without benefit of sunscreen. I was stationed in Yuma Arizona, Hawaii, and a couple of tours in Vietnam. Pretty intense sun in those parts of the world. I had an outside C&P done by QTC to measure the scars.

You will have to have good evidence of ongoing treatment and solid evidence of a service connection, and even then you will probably only get a 0% rating. My DBQ noted that I have Actinic Keratosis on my head, arms, trunk and legs, yet I only received 0%. The VA thinks that once treated it is cured. probably true, though the residual scarring (if any) can be rated once you have a service connection.  

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Thanks for this PCW.  My NOD with additional evidence was received 1/14/16 at Evidence Intake, Newnan, GA just posted on EBenefits 2/3/16.  Plan on mailing out additional evidence; MCRD PT and Parade Deck Photos, Shellback Initiation and Steel Beach Picnic photos on flight deck of USS Midway in Indian Ocean close to earth's equator, copy of VA's own Informational Poster warning of sun damage, and other information.  Can not afford civilian doctor opinion statement but have also included online information from Mayo Clinic and Skin Cancer Foundation in evidence packet.  Have also disagreed with C&P Examiner not being dermatology certified.  She was an allergist and internal medicine specialist and only mentioned a "rash" in my medical records with no reference to geographically close proximity to sun's rays, nor the cumulative nature of it's effects toward later manifestation of AK.  Have third treatment in a year appointment at VAMC Saginaw on 2/18/16 with finally having a biopsy done on one AK that just never has gone away and is beginning to look like one of those "horn" lesions (Squamous Cell?).  Hope this helps anyone else with AK.  Frustrating that the VA Docs do not review current medical literature available to anyone.  Would save everyone a whole lot of time.  Might actually make the VA follow it's own mandate to help the veteran file his claim.

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Berta, when I try to open your link : 

http://www.va.gov/vetapp/wraper_bva.asp?file=/vetapp10/files3/1027560.tx

I get: 

VIEWERROR

IDOLPROXYVIEW-2147483134
0x80000202
Connection was closed before the whole entity has been read/written
ERROR
02 Nov 17 20:06:31

Is this link still relevant?

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In this case BVA granted for actinic Keratosis as due to mustard gas exposure.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp/wraper_bva.asp?file=/vetapp11/Files1/1102264.txt

This next case gives the diagnostic codes and ratings for actinic keratosis:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp/wraper_bva.asp?file=/vetapp10/files3/1027560.txt

“My issue is that actinic keratosis does not start over night or even in one year. It takes decades to develop and is caused by prolonged exposure to the sun. Now I worked in submarines, but we always stood topside watch in short sleeves with no shade and no sun screen. Norfolk, VA and southeast, GA get real sunny and hot.

How do I fight for a rating when the condition did not present itself until after I was out?”

Possibly an IMO (independent medical opinion) would help you.

In situations like yours, the VA will try to find any post service etiology to deny the claim, such as any post service occupation you had that required you to work outside.

The Mayo Clinic makes the same point you did, as to how long this takes to develop:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/actinic-keratosis/DS00568

If I were you I would go to the BVA web site ,http://www.bva.va.gov/, clikck on Search decisions and put this condition into the search feature to see how VA decides these claims.

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My son was in the same situation a few years out of service. He was dx'd colon cancer about 4 years after his service and ended up with 100% P&T. How he did it wasn't easy untill he found a VA Dr that knew how long cancer takes to grow from onset to malignity. In his case the Dr figured it out to have started while in the service. He was a tanker during the Gulf and he thought it was caused from Depleted Uranium from the tank. But just like AO, VA didn't want the exposure so they denied him. So he filed again using the words "from unknown etiology" and won his claim.

So if you can find a Dr that can prove you were in the service when this AK started it's onset, then you shouldn't have a problem. Use the same term my sun used as to the cause, cause if you said it was from the sun, that would open up a argument with the VA.

Coot

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