In order to receive service-connected compensation benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the usual case, a veteran must (1) be suffering from a current disability, (2) show evidence in his/her military service records of a disease, injury, or event in service, and (3) show a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease, injury or event. In some cases, however, a veteran is not required to demonstrate a nexus between the current disability and the in-service disease, injury or event. Instead, the VA presumes that the disability was caused by the veteran’s military service. One such disability presumed to be service-connected by the VA is non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Veterans who served in Vietnam, including service in the waters offshore, are entitled to a presumption of service connection for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In that regard, the governing federal regulation provides as follows:

38 CFR § 3.313. Claims based on service in Vietnam.

(a) Service in Vietnam. Service in Vietnam includes service in the waters offshore, or service in other locations if the conditions of service involved duty or visitation in Vietnam.

(b) Service connection based on service in Vietnam. Service in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era together with the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma manifested subsequent to such service is sufficient to establish service connection for that disease.

Although 38 CFR § 3.313 implies that all cancers classified as non-Hodgkin’s lymphomia are presumptively service-connected, until recently the regulation has not been so broadly interpreted. However, the VA recently took another look at this issue, and extended the presumption of service-connection to cancers related to non-Hodgkin’s lymphomia. As set forth in the Addendum to the May 2011 C&P Service Bulletin, effective June 1, 2011 the presumption of service-connection has been extended to chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small-cell lymphocytic lymphoma. The VA explained the regulatory change in this way:

We have received questions about the connection between non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and small-cell lymphocytic lymphoma. Discussions with medical professionals at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and with our attorneys at the Office of General Counsel (OGC) led to the conclusion that these diseases should all be considered the same disease for purposes of § 3.313. We will update the manual to reflect this determination.

Veterans who now suffer from chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small-cell lymphocytic lymphoma, as well as those who filed claims based on those diseases prior to June 1, 2011 which were denied, should file a claim for compensation benefits with the VA immediately.