The Veterans Administration has added three presumptive conditions to the list of diseases associated with exposure to the Vietnam defoliant known as Agent Orange.
Bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism were added to the list in 2021.
Military veterans who served in Vietnam and/or served in the offshore waters of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, and who suffer from any of those three conditions, as well as previously identified conditions that can be linked to Agent Orange exposure, may be eligible for benefits.
Previously identified conditions are
Cancers:
- Chronic B-cell Leukemia
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Prostate Cancer
- Respiratory Cancers including lung cancer
- Soft Tissue Sarcomas other that Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma,
Kaposi’s Sarcoma, or Mesothelioma
Other Illnesses:
- AL Amyloidosis
- Chloracne or similar types of Acneiform disease
- Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
- Ischemic Heart disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Peripheral Neuropathy (early onset)
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
- Also, the Secretary of the VA passed a new rule adding presumptive service connection for three new respiratory health conditions for veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
The conditions are associated with exposure to fine, particulate, airborne matter where conditions manifest within 10 years of separation. The new conditions are asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis.
Veterans (or their surviving spouse) who have questions or who have any of these presumptive conditions, or who were previously denied benefits for those conditions, should call Greene County veterans affairs coordinator Mike Bierl at 515-386-5673.
