Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for cancer
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 24,152 issues about cancer. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 42 percent. It sent 45 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
696 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 1,422 were dismissed or withdrawn. 307 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 63,024 issues across 49,153 decisions, 32 percent granted of the ones decided, and 42 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted9,786 issues | Denied20,398 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 75 percent | 79 percent |
| A hearing was held (the veteran or a witness testified) | 49 percent | 37 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 46 percent | 59 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 5 percent | 4 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to cancer
Erectile dysfunction secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 337 issues paired, 59 percent granted of the ones decided
Depression or anxiety secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 140 issues paired, 45 percent granted of the ones decided
Radiculopathy or neuropathy secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 158 issues paired, 42 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 49 issues paired, 27 percent granted of the ones decided
Scars secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 83 issues paired, 53 percent granted of the ones decided
Kidney conditions secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 56 issues paired, 44 percent granted of the ones decided
Cancer claimed as secondary to something else
Cancer secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 83 issues paired, 11 percent granted of the ones decided
Cancer secondary to prostate conditions
Since 2019: 25 issues paired, 20 percent granted of the ones decided
Five recent decisions about cancer
- June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for gastrointestinal cancer, for accrued benefits
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 26, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for lung cancer, to include as due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 24, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for pancreatic cancer as cause of death, to include as due to burn pits and other toxins (BPOT) pursuant to the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act…
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 24, 2026Denied
Service connection for prostate cancer
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
For these conditions the Board reads for the diagnosis first, then the link. A named diagnosis in a treatment record, with the test that supports it, is the floor. A list of symptoms with no diagnosis behind it leaves the Board with nothing to rate. The exception is the Gulf War rule, which also pays for signs and symptoms the tests cannot explain, and it names chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome as conditions it covers.
The link comes one of three ways. A doctor's opinion that ties the condition to service, or to another service-connected condition, with reasons. A presumption, when the condition and the service fit one of the lists in the rules. Or, when the condition is one the rules list as a chronic disease and it was noted in service, a record of the same symptoms running from service to now.
For a higher rating, the schedule is specific. Each of these conditions has its own list of findings, like blood pressure readings, lab values, or how many attacks a month. Bring the records that show the findings, not just the diagnosis.
Many of these conditions are claimed as secondary to another one. The claim needs a doctor to say the first condition led to the second, or made it worse, and to explain why. The reasons are what the claim rests on.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.