Hi There.
Just had a prostate biopsy and tested positive for cancer.
I am a Vietnam Vet and it is presumed that all of us were exposed to agent orange which is linked to prostate cancer.
I've started the claim process but wonder if there any brother veterns on this board that have gone through making claims regarding health issues related to A.O.
I'm fortunate to have a decent job with pretty good health insurance so I am so much better off then others but who knows what's down the road.
Appreciate any input.
Thanks!

Fishpicker,

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Will pray that you have a full and complete recovery.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2003 and had the whole thing removed on 15 Dec 2003 (what a way to spend our 30th anniversary-at least I had an excuse for not getting her flowers).

The VA claims process was not too bad. Went to my county veterans office and they handled the paperwork and follow up. It was actually pretty painless. If you have kept copies of your orders, that will help speed the process immensely.

If you were in country, or offshore on the gun line, the VA now presumes that you were exposed to A.O. and there is a fairly long list of diseases and disorders that are associated with AO exposure.

A good friend of mine was on the Milwaukee and has had diabetes for years. My brother in law has had severe heart problems. A friend from high school, and one from the Corps have had PC. Seems like no good deed goes unpunished.

If you want to discuss what to look forward to, please shoot me a PM with your e-mail and / or phone number and I will give you all the info I can.

Good luck and God bless.

S/F,

RAS

Thanks Ras!
I will send you an email tomorrow.
Much appreciated.

I have been through this and sent you a PM.

I am a Vietnam vet. I was stationed in Saigon, but traveled around the country a lot. As far as I know, I was not exposed to Agent Orange. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002 and had radiation treatment for it in 2003. No problems since. I think a lot of men of our age (I'm 78 now) have prostate cancer around this time of our lives, Agent Orange or no.

VFW DAV and Proverbs 3:5-6 Amazingflapjack.

I worked 30 plus years for the VA ( retired now for 10 ). In my state the DAV was the most helpful to vets fighting for benefits. I suggest getting a power of attorney like the DAV to represent you. They don't charge and have knowledgeable and proactive people on staff. You should ask other vets in your state which vets organization has the best rep. My impression was that some states VA boards were more fair than others. Good luck.

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I like Ike.

fishpicker, You will be in our Prayers for a full and complete recovery. Some good advise here already posted, get a rep from the VFW, DAV or American Legion to assist in your claim.
If you were in country, you were more likely than not exposed to AO and as one of the prior commentators stated he traveled around from Saigon...believe me you were exposed, you just didn't know it at the time. I was based out of Bien Hoa AFB, one of the largest bases spraying AO, just being on the Base exposed one to AO. So far I'm lucky in that nothing has come up.....yet.
The VA has an AO physical you can take, get on the AO registry it's for your own good.

If you had boots on the ground, the VA considers you've been exposed to AO. You didn't have to be under the planes getting wet. Check here ==> Exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam - Public Health

I've got Type 2 diabetes which the VA has recognized as being caused by AO exposure so it qualifies as service connected. Usually it would only be a 10% dissability award. Any treatments or meds for the diabetes are free since it's service connected.

Sorry to hear about the cancer, but the VA will work with you.
Sometimes it'll feel like you're back in the military though. Here's an overview page of AO releated benefits. Benefits Overview for Agent Orange Exposure - Public Health

For the OP, you can submit a claim online. Try this page https://fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/help3

You might find this site useful Home HadIt.com Veteran To Veteran LLC

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Pete.

+1 on the DAV being the best advocate to use. While all the veteran organizations will help, the DAV specializes in working with disabled vets.

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Pete.

To answer the orriginal question, once I filled out the online claim form i had to go in for a review session at a VA facility. Since all my med work had been done by the VA he already had my lab reports. Claim approved then and there.

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Pete.

My Brother, I am sorry to hear of your prognosis. I was struck with prostate cancer back in 2004, just lucky my doctor noticed a change and sent me in for a biopsy...scored a 9 on the Gleason Scale. Very virulent and would have taken me out with-in a year or so. I had it radically removed by an excellent surgeon and healed up, etc. A little over a year ago I ran into an old buddy at a restaurant, he told me that he had heard I had prostate cancer and then said that he remembered I had been in Nam about the same time he was, 70-71. I then went on to tell me about the agent orange thing and that all of us with boots on the ground were supposidly candidates for all kinds of maladies...one of which is prostate cancer. He then went on to tell me about filing the claim, etc. I've always had a real negative attitude about many guys claiming this and that and getting paid in the process, many of whom seemed like bums to me...unable to work but able to drink and smoke with the rest.
To make a long story shorter, another buddy of mine told me about the American Legion, gave me a number. I called them, set up an appointment and I believe within 2 months received a 60% disability rating. I can't thank those folks at the AL enough and will probably volunteer my services in the near future. The one thing I will say in terms of advise is that you can't have enough documentation from your attending physician (the guy that did/does your prostatectomy, as well as the guy that found and sent you forward. I had everything from the beginning to the end, including a number of follow-up years. Went very smoothly and through it all they were very supporitive and in fact encouraged me to push forward because for every guy like us that actually "deserves" compensation there are a couple just looking for a free ride.
Another factor that played in my favor was that there is no known occurance of prostate cancer in my family, on either side, that and the fact that I was only 53 when diagnosed led my doctor to believe that an outside influence could definitely have a bearing, he also encouraged me to go forward with the claim. I wasn't a ground pounder in the bush but served aboard an Army LCU hauling cargo, ammo, etc. up and down the coast as well as up rivers.
They are currently working on trying to get Navy guys like a good friend of mine that did roughly the same thing I did covered, also some of the "bluewater" guys were actually hauling drums of the stuff.
There is a list of about 13 maladies covered under the agent orange umbrella.
If you have any further questions you can email me at
[email protected]

Best of luck...Dick

Only God, other veterans, and those that love them are going to help veterans. The only qualification for help is that the individual is a veteran, many of whom are misunderstood, even by other veterans. You see, smoking, drinking, and not having a job are some of the typical symptoms of the most under diagnosed psychological problem in our society-civilian and veteran alike-P.T.S.D. It is not a myth, and ironically, people who say it is, or cast a negative light on those that have it, may indeed suffer from it themselves. The very first symptom is denial of any possibility that "you" have it. Anyone who goes on and on about what other veterans have received of the promised and hard to obtain benefits that others have sweat and bled to win for us, needs to talk to a knowledgeable source for P.T S.D. screening, in my view. Amazingflapjack

I was unable to respond to your PM. Please email me.

fishpicker i know you did not ask for prayer. But i am going to add you to my prayer list sir. Also Thank You for your Service.

As stated get a VSO (Veterans Service Officer) and they’ll have you sign a Power of Attorney to represent you with the VA. In essence they input the claim data directly into the VA system. Critical to the process is your doctor’s input and tests that were performed to provide a diagnosis. I don’t think they are still allowing doctors to fill out DQs. (Doctor’s Questionaires) but if so your VSO will know. If so, get your doctor to fill out. With all the documentation in hand and filed the process from VSO to award approval can be quick. Mine was completed in 10 days. If they require a VA examine it will take their blessing of your documentation so be sure to take all you have to your examine if required. Once approved and until the cancer is in complete submission it is a temporary award at 100% rating. Good luck

My wife used DAV as well and she liked the process. Perhaps they can help you.

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Jorge

The OP hasn't logged on in 8 years. I hope he came out OK.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

I’ve represented vets before the VA, but wound down that part of my practice a couple years ago. I hated it! Simple stuff took forever, complex cases dragged on interminably. Seemed like they’d designed the system to dawdle until the Vet gave up or died.

The VSO is a good resource! A Vet on their own can make errors that only a dyed in the wool bureaucrat can appreciate.

My BIL and a good friend from contracting both had AO-specific prostate cancer found by the VA (both went separately for hearing loss). Caught early, they treat it with hormones and mild radiation. Both are 6 and 7 years post treatment with no troubles.

Both also get 100% disability now, which is $1900 per month. My BIL was 11E and served near the DMZ, and my friend was infantry, serving in the northern highlands.

Dennis, the infantryman, was philosophical. He said it was better to have prostate cancer at age 68 than be dead in dense jungle at 19.