Base of Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

[Seabee Wife]

My beloved Vietnam Seabee just passed away last month. He was diagnosed with base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma in 11/2014. Sadly, after a bilateral neck dissection, he had a MRSA infection and eventually succumbed to septic shock. We had never filed a claim with VA as we were too busy trying to survive. Does anyone believe this is worth pursuing? It doesn't appear that VA pays for squamous cell cancers. Does anyone have any input on this subject? Any information is greatly appreciated.   

[FormerMember]

(e) Disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents. If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active military, naval, or air service, the following diseases shall be service-connected if the requirements of § 3.307(a)(6) are met even though there is no record of such disease during service, provided further that the rebuttable presumption provisions of § 3.307(d) are also satisfied.

AL amyloidosis

Chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne

Type 2 diabetes (also known as Type II diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes)

Hodgkin's disease

Ischemic heart disease (including, but not limited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable and Prinzmetal's angina)

All chronic B-cell leukemias (including, but not limited to, hairy-cell leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia)

Multiple myeloma

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Parkinson's disease

Acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy

Porphyria cutanea tarda

Prostate cancer

Respiratory cancers (cancer of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or trachea)

Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma)

Note 1:

The term “soft-tissue sarcoma” includes the following:

Adult fibrosarcoma

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma

Liposarcoma

Leiomyosarcoma

Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (malignant leiomyoblastoma)

Rhabdomyosarcoma

Ectomesenchymoma

Angiosarcoma (hemangiosarcoma and lymphangiosarcoma)

Proliferating (systemic) angioendotheliomatosis

Malignant glomus tumor

Malignant hemangiopericytoma

Synovial sarcoma (malignant synovioma)

Malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath

Malignant schwannoma, including malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant Triton tumor), glandular and epithelioid malignant schwannomas

Malignant mesenchymoma

Malignant granular cell tumor

Alveolar soft part sarcoma

Epithelioid sarcoma

Clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma

Congenital and infantile fibrosarcoma

Malignant ganglioneuroma

 

Nevertheless, if you can get your doctor to say it in a nexus, it could win. Long shot? yep. But a shot if you did it yourself. Win or Die

[Berta]

There have been a few AO claims involving disabilities not on the AO presumptive lost but as Asknod said, they need a strong IMO to establish the nexus.

Was an autopsy done? If so do you have a copy of it?

On the Death Certificate I assume they put septic shock from MRSA under # 1 but what is stated there under #2, as any contributing causes of death?

Was the MRSA diagnosed not long after the neck dissection?

Was that surgery done at a VA hospital?

If so you might have the basis for a strong 1151 claim.

This is an older post and, in it ,I put links  to 2 1151 awards due to MRSA contracted in VA hospitals.

I tried to find any DIC claim there due to MRSA but the BVA web site is down for maintenance and I will try there again later..

 

 

 

[Berta]

http://www.va.gov/vetapp10/files6/1042483.txt

I just found this award for Base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma, due to AO exposure , at the BVA.

Is the Seabee designation for your service or for the veteran's service?

The VA's AO ships list is here :

If his ship isn't on the list did he serve any time directly in country- Vietnam?

 

 

 

[Navy04]

Welcome aboard and I am so Sorry for your Loss. I too Contracted MRSA while at Walter Reed in 2011 and it almost killed me and my family. I had it cut out of me 7 times. The VA only rated it at 0%, but gave me 30% for Severe Scars due to MRSA and a few other Surgeries. I totally agree with Asknod and Berta. Good luck to you and God Bless.  Please keep us posted

[mozartplayer]

Sorry to hear of your loss to MRSA. I had a cousin die of MRSA in 2004 after acquiring it at a VA hospital after his last chemo treatment for colon cancer.  I'm familiar with both MRSA and squamous cell cancer.  I had two squamous cell carcinomas and one basal cell carcinoma excised from my scalp this past summer and that was preceded by prostate cancer treatment in 2005 with hairy-cell leukemia diagnosed same time and still active today 10 years later.  I've always believed the diseases listed on the VA's List of Agent Orange Presumptive Diseases are just the tip of the iceberg.  I'm not convinced that Agent  Orange doesn't cause many other diseases not on the Presumptive List.  I also had a colon resection this past June to remove two adenomas which were rapidly becoming cancerous.  My Agent Orange Compensation claim is still pending an appeal on the claim I flied August 2009,. Was denied February 2011 and I immediately appealed it, that appeal still pending over 4 years later.  I would consider MRSA to be secondary to the squamous cell carcinoma and if it were me, I'd file a claim regardless of whether or not it's on the Presumptive List.  The St. Paul VA RO did send me for a C&P 2-hour exam almost 10 weeks ago after my claim was transferred from Detroit VA to St. Paul VA after I gave them proof I worked on C-123 aircraft at Langley AFB, VA 1963-64, but did not know then that they were flying down to Eglin AFB, Florida and spraying Agent Orange over a remote area of that Air Force Base.  The Air Force told me Agent Orange was harmless and they also told me that TCE was harmless, a degreaser I used during my 8 years of Air Force active duty to clean electronic components.  I now know it's extremely toxic as former Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune know from drinking water there for years that was contaminated with TCE and other chemicals.  Most veterans know enough not to believe anything DOD says. They are still denying Agent Orange on Okinawa where I was PCS at Kadena AB for 18 months 1961-1965 and TDY to Howard AFB, Canal Zone where many of us believe Agent Orange was sprayed. I was also TDY to Tan Son Nhut AB, Vietnam from Kadena AB in late 1962, the same year C-123 aircraft began spraying Agent Orange as part of Operation Ranch Hand, My TDY there was classified Secret because our RF-101 Voodoo aircraft were flying photomapping missions over Laos in violation of a Geneva Accord which established Laos as a neutral country. I was unable to find written proof that I was ever there which would have resulted in my prostate cancer and hairy-cell leukemia being considered Presumptive.  I'm still trying to convince the VA that my seven encounters with cancer were not simply random, but had to have been associated with my exposure to not only Agent  Orange, but to the TCE I used for 8 years. I was also stationed at four different Air Force bases which the EPA later classified as Superfund Cleanup sites.  As for MRSA, a good source of information for MRSA related issues is the website for the nonprofit MRSA Survivors Network - MRSASurvivorsNetwork.org . Most of my fellow seniors don't realize they are at higher risk of death from a hospital-acquired infection than they are from the surgical procedure they're having.  I've not had a hospital infection even though I've had prostate cancer treatment, hip replacement and a colon resection, but there's always a first time.  My advice when dealing with the VA is to be patient, but assertive.  I spent many years working for the Social Security Administration and after retiring also spent 4 years working for Social Security judges as a legal assistant so I know that disability claims can be very confusing. However, I also know that SSA now has 1 million pending appeals, but is processing hearings request in an average of 14 months from the date a hearing is requested until the date the judge's decision is released. By comparison, the VA has roughly 60,000 appeals pending, but my appeal has been pending for over 4 years. I can only hope I'll soon get a decision on my request for a review by the VA RO because if it's denied, I'll have to wait for another two years for a BVA video hearing. I'm not getting any younger and an 8th diagnosis of cancer could the the one that kills me.  Good luck in any case. You lose nothing by filing.

[Seabee Wife]

Wow. I am so humbled by the many responses. Thank you. I just received my husband's death certificate today and it just shows cause of death as base of tongue cancer. I thought that was really odd as his 4 months of hospitalization (non VA hospital) were due to septic shock x3, and stroke related to the sepsis. He was diagnosed with septic shock 2 weeks after the bilateral neck dissection. I'm pretty sure he came home from the hospital with MRSA after the surgery. He fought like hell but the sepsis kept coming back. No, I did not have an autopsy done. Everything is related to the cancer but the sepsis is what killed him?  Thank you again for your responses. I'm truly humbled.

Also, he was on the ground in Nam  not on a ship...      

Edited December 30, 2015 by Seabee Wife