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Non-Agent Orange related conditions
Of note, there are numerous conditions that are not associated with Agent Orange. Service connection for them must, by law, be denied.
- Hepatobiliary cancers
- Nasal and nasopharyngeal cancer
- Bone cancers
- Breast cancer
- Cancers of the female reproductive system
- Urinary bladder cancer
- Renal cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
- Reproductive effects (abnormal sperm parameters and infertility)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Chronic persistent peripheral neuropathy
- Lipid and lipoprotein disorders
- Gastrointestinal and digestive disease
(other than diabetes mellitus) - Immune-system disorders
- Circulatory disorders
Respiratory disorders (other than certain respiratory cancers)
- Skin cancer
- Cognitive and neuropsychiatric effects
- Gastrointestinal tract tumors
- Brain tumors
- Amyloidosis
What to do if your condition is listed as not Agent Orange related.
If you have one of these orphaned conditions you can apply for service connection secondary to Agent Orange exposure; however, your claim will be denied. What should you do?
My advice would be to apply any way, and let the VA deny the claim. Then appeal the decision. A timely appeal keeps your claim in the mill. Also, keep in mind that somewhere down the road some or all of these conditions might be approved. By having a denial on record, you stand a chance of having it approved retroactively. Additionally, the medical evidence you submitted will always be in your VA claims file. However, if you wait several years to file a claim, you should keep in mind that physicians don’t keep their records forever. So get your claim submitted before your records wind up in the trash bin or shredder.
One additional cautionary word: exposure to Agent Orange, in and of itself, is not a disability. That is, you can receive service connection only for the 11 disabilities listed here.
