|
Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents - 2009
VA Expands AO Benefits BY DAVID L. HOUPPERT, ESQ., DIRECTOR, VETERANS BENEFITS On October 13, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced three additions to the presumptive service-connected list of diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents. Due to presumed exposure to herbicides collectively referred to as Agent Orange, Secretary Shinseki has determined that B cell leukemias, Parkinson’s disease, and ischemic heart disease will allow presumptive service connection. What follows is a brief overview of these conditions. Leukemias are a very complex group of diseases. B cell leukemia refers to several types of lymphoid leukemia that affect B cells. These types of leukemia include B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, mature B-cell type, B-cell prolymphoblastic leukemia, mature B-cell type, B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, precursor B lymphoblastic leukemia, and hairy cell leukemia. |
|||||







