The Washington Post
Friday, January 24, 2003; Page A09
Leukemia Linked to Herbicide Used During Vietnam War

Researchers have found a link between a type of leukemia and Vietnam soldiers exposed to such herbicides as Agent Orange, prompting the Department of Veterans Affairs to announce it will extend benefits to veterans with the illness.

The veterans in which chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, has been diagnosed would start receiving improved benefits in about a year, Secretary Anthony Principi said yesterday.

Veterans Affairs expects to find about 500 new cases a year among Vietnam veterans, spokesman Phil Budahn said. About 2.6 million people served in Vietnam during the war, and most are still alive. There are 10,000 Vietnam veterans who receive disability pay for other illnesses related to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War, Veterans Affairs said.

The Institute of Medicine, which reexamined past research on cancer rates in agricultural workers and farm community residents, said yesterday that it had found the link between the form of leukemia and herbicides used in Vietnam.

Docruffmuthuh: I filed a claim for a veteran on CLL back in 1989. If he is still living he's gonna collect!
If any veteran wishes a copy of my work "In Search of the Truth For The Vietnam Combat Veteran" and a copy of my CLL essay go to my profile and e-mail me and I will e-mail a copy to you.
Dave Barker

Dave I just discovered this web page. Am I to late to request your "Truth" offer you sent vets with CCL. my email address is
removed to stop 'bot from flooding e-mail addy. Please use Military.com e-mail to contact Lyle.

Thank's
Lyle in San Diego.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DaveBarker,

VA AGENT ORANGE CLAIMS UPDATE 01: The American Legion and the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) have been working closely together over the last 15 years to make sure that the VA pays all of the benefits that Vietnam veterans and their survivors deserve as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. Recently, there have been two important developments. This article provides advice about the steps you should take if you represent yourself, a veteran, or a survivor who may be affected:

1.) CLL Claims: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the latest disease the VA added to the list of diseases presumptively service connected due to Agent Orange. The VA issued the regulation adding CLL on 16 OCT 03. CLL is a malignancy (cancer) of the white blood that results from an acquired injury to the DNA of a single cell, a lymphocyte, in the bone marrow. This injury is not present at birth.
As a result of the Nehmer lawsuit [Nehmer v. U.S. Veterans Administration, 32 F. Supp. 2d 1175 (N.D. Cal. 1999)] the VA is normally required to pay benefits for an Agent Orange-related disease retroactive to the date the VA received the first claim the veteran or survivor filed based on the disease with the exception of claims that were finally denied before 25 SEP 85. VA took the position that when it was service connected CLL the Nehmer rules did not apply to CLL claims. As a result, the VA assigned an effective date no earlier than 16 OCT 03 whenever the VA granted a disability or DIC claim based on CLL even if the first CLL claim was filed before 16 OCT 03.

The Nehmer lawsuit is a class action brought by National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) on behalf of Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and their survivors. NVLSP appealed the VA's decision concerning CLL, and on 1 DEC 05, the federal court that oversees the Nehmer lawsuit agreed with NVLSP that the Nehmer rules do apply to CLL claims. The court's December 1st ruling requires the VA to pay disability and DIC benefits retroactive to the date of claim to all veterans or survivors who filed a CLL claim before 16 OCT 05. The VA recently appealed the December 1st decision to the court of appeals. If you know of a Vietnam veteran or survivor who filed a CLL claim before 16 OCT 03, you should contact NVLSP attorney Rick Spataro at (202) 265-8305, ext. # 149 or rick_spataro@nvlsp.org. NVLSP is currently trying to get the court to require the VA to pay the retroactive benefits owed under the December 1st order as soon as possible, even though the VA has appealed the decision. Rick is collecting a list of all CLL claimants who deserve an earlier effective date under the December 1st order to present to the court.

2.) Blue Water Disability/DIC claims: From 1991 to 2002, the VA took the position that Navy veterans who were awarded the Vietnam Service Medal as a result of service in the waters offshore Vietnam (blue water vets) were entitled to the same presumption of exposure to Agent Orange as veterans who set foot on land in Vietnam. As a result, many Navy veterans who served offshore and their survivors were granted disability or DIC benefits based on an Agent Orange-related disease. However, in FEB 02 the VA amended VA Manual M21-1 to limit the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to only those veterans who actually set foot on the land mass of Vietnam. As a result of the policy change the VA has been denying claims filed by blue water vets for Agent Orange related diseases since FEB 02. In addition, the VA has taken action to sever awards of service connection in some of the cases that were granted prior to February 2002.

NVLSP has appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims many of the BVA decisions denying benefits to blue water veterans. NVLSP has argued in these cases that the VA's change of position in 2002 violates the Agent Orange Act of 1991. On 10 JAN 06, a panel of the Court heard argument in one of NVLSP's appeals and a decision on the legality of the VA's set-foot-on-land requirement is expected some time this year. In any case in which you are representing yourself or another blue water Navy veteran/survivor on a claim based on an Agent Orange-related disease, you should keep the claim alive by filing a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) after the VA denial, and a timely substantive appeal after the Statement of the Case (SOC). If the BVA denies the claim, contact NVLSP attorney Rick Spataro so that a timely appeal can be filed with the Veterans Court. This is a prudent move because if NVLSP wins its appeal, the VA will be required to follow the Veteran Court's decision on the pending claim. On the other hand, if the VA's denial of the claim becomes final, there is no guarantee that the VA will consider the prior final denial to be a clear and unmistakable error even if NVLSP were to win its appeal.

I am writing for my husband, ( SGT Joseph H Summit, Viet Nam Vet) Is there any link to Esophageal cancer from Agent Orange? My husband was diagnozed with Esophageal Cancer on 11/23/04 and had the Ivor Lewis procedure done on 1/17/05 and the top right lung lobe removed.Joe was in th service in VN 1964 to 1968 and was there when Agent Orange was sprayed in the jungle. He does not talk to much about it tho ( to many bad memories) He has 3 Purple Hearts a Bronze Star and a Silver Medal and he is suffering so much now. I was told I should contact someone about the Agent Orange. I don't know where or what to do if this is service connected. He is on a small disability fron VN of 10 %, since he came home fron VN in 1968. Can you reply to me via e-mail at hsummit11@earthlink.net

thank you
Hazel Summit

My website has updates on this topic.

I found I had CLL in 2001.I never realized it had anything to do with my service in Vietnam or Agent Orange. In 2006 a retired Army friend advised me CLL was included in the Agent Orange catagory. I filed in Feb 2006 and received a 100% disibility in Sept. 2006 retro to Feb 2006.
My question is, why is the disibility not paid from the time it was accepted as an Agent Orange issue, I believe it was 2003 and or can I put in a claim again to include the time between 2003 and 2006 when they first gave it to me.

jfader53:
I would like to give you a better answer than the one I am giving. It is the law. A service connected condition effective date is the first day of the month after receipt by the VA. You must apply in order to receive the benefits.
This is one of the extremely important reasons all veterans should be a member of the veterans organizations they are eligible to join. The organizations I belong to (AMVETS, DAV, Legion and VFW) gave much attention to CLL being related to herbicide exposure. The veterans organizations get the information out to the veterans. The organizations also provide service officers to assist the veteran in filing and proscecution of claims.
Here is a link to the future problems: http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/739197221/m/3920037880001

quote:

Originally posted by DaveBarker:
jfader53:
I would like to give you a better answer than the one I am giving. It is the law. A service connected condition effective date is the first day of the month after receipt by the VA. You must apply in order to receive the benefits.
This is one of the extremely important reasons all veterans should be a member of the veterans organizations they are eligible to join. The organizations I belong to (AMVETS, DAV, Legion and VFW) gave much attention to CLL being related to herbicide exposure. The veterans organizations get the information out to the veterans. The organizations also provide service officers to assist the veteran in filing and proscecution of claims.
Here is a link to the future problems: http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/739197221/m/3920037880001

And I thank you for your answer. Funny, I left the service and didn't look back. I've always financially supported the DAV but never even thought I'd be one. I'm thankful for what I did get and have joined the DAV. Better late then never. Again thanks for your help.

quote:

I'm thankful for what I did get and have joined the DAV. Better late then never. Again thanks for your help.

DAV is an outstanding organization. I hope you will consider AMVETS as well!

VA Must Pay Agent Orange Victims
Associated Press | July 20, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO - An appeals court chastised the Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday and ordered the agency to pay retroactive benefits to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and contracted a form of leukemia.

"The performance of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has contributed substantially to our sense of national shame," the opinion from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals read.

It was not immediately known how much the department would have to pay under the order or how many veterans would be affected.

VA spokesman Phil Budahn said late Thursday that officials were reviewing the ruling, and declined further comment.

The VA agreed in 2003 to extend benefits to Vietnam vets diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, known as CLL. U.S. troops had sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over parts of South Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1960s and '70s to clear dense jungle, and researchers later linked CLL to Agent Orange.

But the VA did not re-examine previous claims from veterans suffering from the ailment, nor did it pay them retroactive benefits, which was at the heart of the latest dispute.

Thursday's opinion was on a technical matter involving whether a lower court had properly interpreted a landmark agreement in 1991 on benefits, stemming from a class-action lawsuit originally filed in 1986.

The appeals court sided with veterans groups who said the veterans were entitled to retroactive benefits.

"We would hope that this litigation will now end, that our government will now respect the legal obligations it undertook in the consent decree some 16 years ago, that obstructionist bureaucratic opposition will now cease, and that our veterans will finally receive the benefits to which they are morally and legally entitled," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the court's opinion.

Richard Spataro, a lawyer with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said Thursday's ruling could finally halt years of legal battles - if the VA does not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Spataro said if researchers link other disabilities to Agent Orange the decision will prevent the VA from denying retroactive benefits for those veterans, too.

Check my website for updates.
http://www.geocities.com/dave_barker_amvet/index.html

Hi Dave. I have a good one for you. I was told 10 days ago that I have a spinal thoracic tumor. lymph node in chest are bad and spots on my liver.

How's that for getting slapped.

They all knew it for some time and never told me. I went and got my VA records to see a doctor civlian because of the pain I was still have in the back and chest.

Low and behold wife and I are reading them and it stated so far back to 18 March 2007 they "VA" knew it.


Now for the good part DAVE.. They still have NOT told me about this. I have started the MRI stuff though to finish the check.

quote:

They still have NOT told me about this. I have started the MRI stuff though to finish the check.

You need to contact your Patient Advocate and your VSO today and file a complaint.

Thanks Dave I will.

Again, thanks Dave. Dawg here sounds like he is not getting the kind of help he needs. VA does tend to bury vets problems in paperwork...and forgets about the vet.

quote:

VA does tend to bury vets problems in paperwork...

Yes they do.

quote:

Originally posted by LDolson:
Dave I just discovered this web page. Am I to late to request your "Truth" offer you sent vets with CCL.
Thank's
Lyle in San Diego.

If you wish any of my books just write me. Tell me which one you want. They are on my website. Make sure your address is legible.
My snail mail address is:
David Barker AMVETS, VAMC
17273 State Route 104
Chillicothe OH 45601

quote:

Originally posted by dragonflyer04:
Again, thanks Dave. Dawg here sounds like he is not getting the kind of help he needs. VA does tend to bury vets problems in paperwork...and forgets about the vet.

I guess I would have to ask all of you , how would you feel if you had a very large tumor on your spine, kept going to VA 10 times with real bad pain. They knew you had the tumor because the doctors keep mentioning it in the records, and they are not telling you and NOT helping you with the pain or getting rid of it. Not to mention the spots on the liver and the bad lymph nods.