Citation Nr: 18158819 Decision Date: 12/18/18 Archive Date: 12/17/18 DOCKET NO. 17-00 643 DATE: December 18, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for lung cancer is denied. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran has, or has had at any time during the appeal, a current diagnosis of lung cancer. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for lung cancer have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1131, 1137, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served in the United States Marine Corps from March 1969 to March 1971. The Veteran declined a hearing in this case. Service Connection—Generally Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010). Where a Veteran served 90 days or more of active service, and certain chronic diseases become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year after the date of separation from such service, such disease shall be presumed to have been incurred in service, even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(a). While the disease need not be diagnosed within the presumption period, it must be shown, by acceptable lay or medical evidence, that there were characteristic manifestations of the disease to the required degree during that time. Lung cancer is a chronic disease. The Board has thoroughly reviewed all the evidence in the Veteran’s claims file. Although the Board has an obligation to provide reasons and bases supporting this decision, there is no need to discuss, in detail, each piece of evidence of record. The analysis below focuses on the most salient and relevant evidence and on what this evidence shows, or fails to show, regarding the Veteran’s claim on appeal. The Veteran must not assume that the Board has overlooked pieces of evidence that are not explicitly discussed herein. See Timberlake v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 122 (2000). Entitlement to service connection for lung cancer The Veteran claims that he suffers from lung cancer, which he believes is related to service. The question for the Board is whether the Veteran has a current disability that began during service or is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The Board concludes that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of lung cancer and has not had one at any time during the pendency of the claim. For example, VA treatment records show that the Veteran was diagnosed with a lung mass in March 2016. Biopsies were performed that do not indicate any diagnosis of lung cancer, as described below. An April 2016 VA treatment record shows that the Veteran underwent a bronchoscopy/mediastinoscopy with biopsies for a right thoracic mass in February 2016, and that these biopsies were negative. These records indicate that the Veteran was diagnosed in April 2016 with abnormal tissue in the lung. However, these VA treatment records do not show a diagnosis of lung cancer. A July 2016 VA physical examination shows that the Veteran had a right lung nodule that increased from 0.5 centimeters in April to 2.3 centimeters in July. The medical professional noted that he was especially concerned with this area. An October 2016 VA physical examination shows that the Veteran had non-labored respirations and a 2.3 centimeter right lung nodule that was not previously noted. The VA examiner noted that the Veteran had a history of multiple small pulmonary nodules, and that his lung nodules appeared to be waxing and waning, but appeared stable overall. The records from this visit do not show a diagnosis of lung cancer. All of the above tends to show that the Veteran has not had and does not now have a current diagnosis of lung cancer. In the absence of a current disability, the Veteran fails to meet the first element of a claim for service connection. While the Veteran believes he has a current diagnosis of lung cancer, he is not competent to provide a diagnosis in this case, as he has not been shown to possess the expertise or training necessary to render a complex medical diagnosis. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Consequently, the Board gives more probative weight to the competent evidence of record, which does not show a diagnosis of lung cancer. For all the reasons laid out above, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for lung cancer on a direct basis and on a presumptive basis. Thus, as the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, there is no reasonable doubt to be resolved, and the claim is denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). A. P. SIMPSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Caruso, Associate Counsel