Citation Nr: 21029208 Decision Date: 05/12/21 Archive Date: 05/12/21 DOCKET NO. 17-27 247 DATE: May 12, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for breast cancer is granted. Entitlement to service connection for a thyroid cancer is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, her breast cancer is etiologically attributable to her active service. 2. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, her thyroid cancer is etiologically attributable to her active service CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for breast cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1131, 1137, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for thyroid cancer have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1131, 1137, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from November 1981 to August 1986. In October 2019, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing is of record. The claim was most recently before the Board in December 2019 when it was remanded for further development. There has been substantial compliance with the remand and the Board will proceed with adjudication. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). SERVICE CONNECTION Entitlement to service connection for breast cancer. Entitlement to service connection for a thyroid cancer. The Veteran contends that her breast and thyroid cancers are related to radiation exposure while serving in Germany during the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed.Cir.2009); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). The Veteran was diagnosed during the appeal period with breast cancer in 2016 and with thyroid cancer in 2017. The question for the Board is whether the Veteran's current disabilities are at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the Board concludes that her breast and thyroid cancers are both related to service, to include radiation related to the Chernobyl accident. The Veteran's service records show she was stationed in Germany from June 1985 to August 1986; the Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) were silent for complaint, injury, or treatment of breast cancer. Her May 1986 separation exam reported a mild enlargement of the thyroid isthmus, while the Veteran's June 1981 entrance exam revealed no documentation of thyroid problems. The Veteran has asserted that her breast and thyroid cancer were caused by her in-service exposure of Chernobyl radiation. See March 2017 Notice of Disagreement and May 2017 VA Form 9. At the October 2019 hearing, the Veteran reiterated the circumstances that she believed included exposure to radiation from Chernobyl radiation while stationed overseas in Germany. The Veteran also testified that her thyroid doctor said it was probable that exposure to Chernobyl radiation could be a factor in her cancer. In November 2019, the Veteran submitted medical and journal articles concerning the detrimental health effects resulting from Chernobyl radiation exposure in Europe. See Mutation Research, Chromosome analysis in a population living in an area of Germany with the highest fallout deposition from the Chernobyl accident (1992); RADNET; Information about source points of anthropogenic radioactivity (2019); National Institutes of Health, Radiation Induced Thyroid Cancer (2003); Mutation Research, Chromosome investigation of individuals living in areas of southern Germany contaminated by fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident (1993); Ionizing radiation, Health effects of the Chernobyl accident: an overview (2006); Express, Chernobyl radiation map: How far did radiation from Chernobyl travel - did it affect UK? (2019). Although the evidence demonstrates that southern Germany experienced a "particularly high contamination" of Chernobyl radiation in 1986, this does not preclude the rest of Germany, or other European countries, from experiencing damaging levels of radiation. Pursuant to the Board remand, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in October 2020. The VA examiner provided positive nexus opinions stating that the Veteran's breast and thyroid cancers were at as least as likely as not incurred in or caused by exposure to radiation from the April 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Accident while stationed in Germany. The examiner based their positive opinions on the medical evidence demonstrating a causal link between radiation exposure and breast and thyroid cancers. The examiner also considered the Veteran's submitted medical and journal articles regarding exposure to Chernobyl radiation. See Id. Specifically, the examiner noted that "radiation exposure is a proven risk factor" for breast and thyroid cancers. The examiner also noted that "nuclear fallout from Chernobyl was known to have radiation effects across Europe." In October 2020 the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) contacted the US Army Dosimetry Center to obtain a Record of Occupational Exposure to Radiation for the Veteran. The November 2020 response from the US Army Dosimetry Center stated that no records of exposure to occupational radiation could be found for the Veteran. However, the lack of recorded radiation exposure is not probative because the Veteran's service treatment records and personnel records did not contain evidence that monitoring was necessary for occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. The Veteran's specific claim of exposure to radiation is related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Accordingly, the evidence is at least in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current breast and thyroid cancers originated during her active service. The benefit of the doubt is resolved in the Veteran's favor; service connection for breast and thyroid cancer are warranted. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990); 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S.E. Bresler, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.