TITUSVILLE — As part of President Joe Biden’s Unity Agenda commitment to support the nation’s veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is adding nine rare respiratory cancers to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities due to military environmental exposures to fine particulate matter.
The following list of rare respiratory cancers have been added to the VA’s regulations through an Interim Final Rule published in the Federal Register on April 26:
• Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.
• Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea.
• Adenocarcinoma of the trachea.
• Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea.
• Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung.
• Large cell carcinoma of the lung.
• Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung.
• Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung.
• Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung.
The VA determined through a focused review of scientific and medical evidence there is biological plausibility between airborne hazards and carcinogenesis of the respiratory tract — and the unique circumstances of these rare cancers warrant a presumption of service connection.
The rarity and severity of these illnesses, and the reality these conditions present a situation where it may not be possible to develop additional evidence, prompted VA to take this action.
“Last year we made promises to fundamentally change and improve how we establish and expedite presumptions — now we’re keeping them,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “We are taking a new approach to presumptive that takes all available science into account, with one goal in mind — getting today’s veterans — and vets in the decades ahead — the benefits they deserve as fast as possible.”
The VA will begin processing disability compensation claims for veterans who served any amount of time in the Southwest Asia theater of operations beginning Aug. 2, 1990, to the present, or Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Syria or Djibouti beginning Sept. 19, 2001, to the present. Any veteran who has or had one of the listed cancers at any time during or after separation from military service may be eligible for disability compensation benefits.
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Veterans, survivors or dependents who had claims previously denied for any of these respiratory cancers are encouraged to file a supplemental claim for benefits.
To apply for benefits, veterans and survivors are encouraged to talk with a credited veterans service officer. If you do not apply, you will not get the benefits.
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Many researchers have linked the chemical herbicides (Agent Orange) to many serious health conditions.
Periodically, new conditions are added to the list. Currently the list contains the following: leukemia; Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; diabetes mellitus, Type II; Parkinson’s disease; repertory cancer; prostrate cancer; AL amyloidosis; ischemic heart disease; multiple myeloma; soft tissue sarcoma; bladder cancer; hypothyroidism and Parkinsonism.
A partial list of places where you may have come in contact with herbicides (Agent Orange): Vietnam from 1962 to May 1975 or around the DMZ (demilitarized zone) September 1967 to August 1971; on Navy and Coast Guard ships and other vessels in or near Vietnam from January 1962 to May 1975; on Thailand military bases from 1962 and 1975; in testing and storage areas outside Vietnam between 1944 and TBA (to be announced); and on C-130 airplanes between 1969 and 1986.
Now is the time to get in touch with that credited service officer to help you file a claim. They can also have more information about other storage locations.
Again, if you do not file, you will not get the benefits that could be worth thousands of dollars of benefits each month. You must qualify.
Charlie Castelluccio, a Titusville resident, is chaplain of northwest…
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