Citation Nr: 18160821 Decision Date: 12/27/18 Archive Date: 12/27/18 DOCKET NO. 17-00 618 DATE: December 27, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from June 1964 to May 1967. 1. Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death is remanded. The Appellant contends that the Veteran’s prostate cancer substantially contributed to the Veteran’s esophageal cancer treatment, which in turn ultimately resulted in the Veteran’s death. See July 2016 Correspondence. The Veteran’s death certificate shows that he died in November 2014. The immediate cause of death was metastatic esophageal cancer. In a December 2016 letter, the Veteran’s treating doctor submitted a letter stating that due to the Veteran’s history of prostate cancer, the Veteran was unable to enroll in a clinical trial which may have improved his survival, although noted it was not curative. Accordingly, the Board finds an additional medical opinion is warranted to consider if the Veteran’s history of prostate cancer was a contributing cause to the Veteran’s death. While the Board notes the Veteran was not service connected for prostate cancer at the time of his death, prostate cancer can be presumptively service connected on the basis of exposure to certain herbicide agents. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309. The Board also notes the Veteran had two years and six months of overseas service and received the Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal. However, these medals alone do not establish service within the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, if, and only if, the VA examiner determines that prostate cancer was a contributory cause of the Veteran’s death, further development should be performed to determine the nature of the Veteran’s overseas service. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Only if the VA examiner concludes the Veteran’s prostate cancer was a contributing cause to the Veteran’s death, perform the appropriate development to determine if the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam. 2. Arrange for a medical opinion by an appropriate examiner for the purpose of determining the nature of the Veteran’s prostate cancer and whether it caused or contributed to his death. The electronic claims file must be made available to the examiner for review, and the opinion must reflect that such review has been accomplished. The examiner must provide an opinion as to the following: (a.) Is it at least as likely as not (a probability of 50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s prostate cancer disability caused or substantially or materially contributed to the to the Veteran’s esophageal cancer, which ultimately resulted in the Veteran’s death? In reaching this determination, the examiner should take into account the December 2016 letter from the Veteran’s treating physician, Dr. D.G. The rationale for any opinion expressed should be provided. If an opinion cannot be made without resort to speculation, the examiner should so state and provide reasoning as to why a conclusion would be so outside the norm that such an opinion is not possible. A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Laura C. Owens, Associate Counsel