Agent Orange ischemic heart, now lung cancer

[cathyjourdan]

Okay my husband has been getting compensation for his heart since it became presumptive for Agent Orange.  He has 60%.  So his Vietnam service, etc has already been verified.  Now he has been diagnosed with Squamous cell primary lung cancer.  They have not yet decided on a treatment plan because they are doing some respiratory tests tomorrow to see if maybe surgery will be an option since he has late stage COPD. I went ahead and turned in  the claim along with his VA records thus far, basically to save the date.  My question is:  Since he is already receiving one presumptive for Agent Orange, should the Lung cancer claim go fairly quickly?  Also if I understand what I've read it that they will put him at 100% during treatment and then six months after all treatment they will reevaluate him.  Does that mean they will take it all away or do they just lower the lung cancer rating?  Based on what?   Thank you.  

[broncovet]

I will try to answer your questions:

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Since he is already receiving one presumptive for Agent Orange, should the Lung cancer claim go fairly quickly?  PROBABLY NOT.  VA uses any/all excuses to delay as long as possible.  However, if this is a claim for lung cancer secondary to heart disease, that would mean you would not have to establish an "in service event" for the lung cancer.  Sorry, But Im not sure if lung cancer is also on the AO presumptive list.  Maybe others will know that.  

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  Also if I understand what I've read it that they will put him at 100% during treatment and then six months after all treatment they will reevaluate him.  THE lung cancer has to be service connected for you to get a temporary 100 percent rating, also.  Again, I dont know if the lung cancer will be decided as sc or not.  

  Does that mean they will take it all away or do they just lower the lung cancer rating? 

IF you get a temporary rating for a surgical procedure, its normally automatically lowered after the surgical recovery period.   However, Lung cancer is a serious malady that few recover from, so if your hubby is rated for lung cancer, there is a good chance it will be permanent.  

 Based on what?

IM guessing maybe you are confusing a "convalescent" temporary rating with a permanent one.  A convalescent rating is to pay you for a relatively short period of time, while you are recovering from surgery.  While you may get a convalescent rating, you could also get a more permanent one, if your husbands lung cancer is service connected.  The big question is "Is lung cancer service connected"?   I dont know that one.  As always, you need the caluza elements for service connection, unless its a presumptive.    Thank you.  

 

 

[broncovet]

My advice to you is to aggessively persue this claim, appeal if necessary and be persistent until you win.  

If you get denied at the VARO level, then ask for an "advance on the docket" because lung cancer is a very serious malady.  

[cathyjourdan]

Okay yes lung cancer is a presumptive under agent orange.   I was hoping that since they know he had agent orange exposure because he already has an agent orange rated disability that it might move quicker

[Berta]

.VA will service connect any 'respiratory' cancer of the lung, larynx,trachea, broncus, in any incountry Viernam veteran.

I would hope it would move faster as well- but we can never depend on how fast the VA will handle anything-

We had a  Vietnam vets survivor spouse here years ago and the VA had denied his claim for AO lung cancer.

At first I thought he had a non 'respiratory' form of lung cancer....wife never gave details-but finally 

w learned that his claim had been denied due to the pre 2002 lung cancer regulations.

“Prior to 2002, the recognized respiratory cancers – that is, cancer of the lung, larynx, bronchus, and trachea – were subject to a time manifestation requirement. Under the rule in effect from 1994 (when the VA first recognized these respiratory cancers as being related to Agent Orange exposure) through 2001, a respiratory cancer would not qualify under the VA's Agent Orange rules if the cancer first became manifest to a degree of 10% or more after 30 years had already expired from the last day of the veteran's service in Vietnam.560

Congress repealed the 30-year manifestation rule for respiratory cancers, effective on January 1, 2002.561 Thus, the rule now is that a Vietnam veteran who develops a respiratory cancer to a disabling degree of 10% or more, or a qualifying surviving family member of a Vietnam veteran who dies of a respiratory cancer, is entitled to compensation based on that cancer no matter now when the respiratory cancer first appeared. A Vietnam veteran or surviving family member who applied for, but was finally denied compensation because of the 30-year manifestation rule, can now qualify for compensation simply by filing a new application. To ensure that the VA grants the new claim – as it should -- the veteran or survivor should alert the VA to the fact that the 30-year manifestation rule has been repealed. “

https://www.hadit.com/vaclaimslibrary/vietnam/agent_orange_claims.pdf

The spouse could have used this regulation to seek DIC- but there was also something else missing from the claim-and we never found out if the lung cancer was the prime or contributing cause of his death,[per the death certificate.

I often wonder how many vets or their survivors were denied under the pre 2002 regulation, yet could have succeeded after the Congressional repeal of the initial regulation.It is only retro to 2002 however.

 

 

 

 

 

[cathyjourdan]

Thank you!

 

[broncovet]

Yes, thanks Berta, for helping out here.   I thought it was a presumptive, but VA has a way of making it way more complex than it needs to be.  As usual, you provided a better answer than I did.