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This Knol is provided to you to describe general processes and procedures that occur during the application for disability compensation and pension and other benefits within the Department of Veterans Affairs System. Any author you find here is not providing you with legal advice. Any information provided by this Knol or any contributor to this Knol is not intended as and should not be construed as legal advice. You should always consult an attorney to help answer specific questions regarding how VA laws apply to you and/or your situation. The summaries provided here are incomplete, and the DVA laws and regulations are subject to change. We do not guarantee and we are not liable for the accuracy or completeness of any of the information provided, or any results or outcome as a result of the use of this information.Facts About Prostate Cancer
It's reported that 1 in 6 men in America will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 2008, 186,000 men will be diagnosed and over 28,000 men will die of the disease. Risk factors are age, ethnicity, family history, and lifestyle. African-American men are 61% more likely to develop prostate cancer and 2.5 times more likely to die from the disease. (Source)The Vietnam Veteran and Prostate Cancer
Most references that provide information about prostate cancer don't list military service in Vietnam or other exposure to Agent Orange as a risk factor. This seems incongruous when we know that Vietnam era veterans constituted the largest group of veterans in Census 2000, accounting for 8.4 million people or 31.7 percent of the total veteran population.The Prostate Cancer Foundation touts itself as, "the world’s leading philanthropic organization for funding prostate-cancer research" yet makes no mention of Vietnam veterans.
At the web site for the National Cancer Institute, no mention of either Agent Orange nor the Vietnam veteran is found. Following the trend, The Mayo Clinic and Medline Plus choose to ignore the Vietnam veteran.
The Institute of Medicine points out that, "Since Update 2004, however, new evidence has emerged that service in Vietnam itself may be associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer. Although the explanations for that are unclear, the possibility needs to be taken into account in interpreting studies that bear on the relationship of Agent Orange exposure to prostate cancer." (Source)
"Veterans exposed to Agent Orange have higher rates of prostate cancer recurrence" (Source)
"Veterans exposed to Agent Orange have a 48 percent increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence following surgery than their unexposed peers, and when the disease comes back, it seems more aggressive, researchers say."
Work In Progress 10/01/2008
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