Is Multiple myeloma a presumptive condition?

Q: Is Multiple myeloma a presumptive condition?

VA lists Multiple myeloma as a presumptive condition for Agent Orange and other herbicide agents and Ionizing radiation exposure and Ionizing radiation exposure and Camp Lejeune contaminated water and Camp Lejeune contaminated water. A presumption means you don't have to prove that your service caused the condition, but you still need a current diagnosis, qualifying service, and a discharge that isn't dishonorable. Only VA can decide eligibility on a claim.

The short answer

Yes. VA lists Multiple myeloma as presumptive for Agent Orange and other herbicide agents and Ionizing radiation exposure and Ionizing radiation exposure and Camp Lejeune contaminated water and Camp Lejeune contaminated water.

That means you would not have to prove the medical link between this condition and your service. It does notmean a claim is approved. You still need a current diagnosis, service that meets the requirement for that exposure, and a discharge that isn't dishonorable, and VA decides every case itself.

Worth knowing: this condition appears under more than one exposure track. The tracks have different service requirements, so more than one path may be relevant depending on where and when you served.

Agent Orange and other herbicide agents

How VA publishes it: Listed under "Cancers" on the va.gov Agent Orange eligibility page.

Qualifying locations and dates

In the Republic of Vietnam

Dates: January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975

Aboard a U.S. military vessel that operated in the inland waterways of Vietnam

Dates: January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975

On a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia

Dates: January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975

In or near the Korean DMZ

Dates: VA phrasing on the eligibility page: "for any length of time between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971"

Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand

Dates: January 9, 1962 through June 30, 1976

Laos

Dates: December 1, 1965 through September 30, 1969

Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province

Dates: April 16, 1969 through April 30, 1969

Guam or American Samoa, or in the territorial waters off Guam or American Samoa

Dates: January 9, 1962 through July 31, 1980

Johnston Atoll, or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll

Dates: January 1, 1972 through September 30, 1977

Repeated contact with C-123 aircraft that had traces of Agent Orange on them

Dates: No date range is published on the va.gov Agent Orange eligibility page. VA's public health pages describe this as during and after the Vietnam War, covering flight, ground maintenance, and aeromedical crew members.

Involvement in transporting, testing, storing, or other uses of Agent Orange during military service (herbicide test and storage sites)

Dates: No single date range. VA maintains site-by-site lists in which each installation carries its own dates.

Everything listed under agent orange and other herbicide agents

Ionizing radiation exposure

How VA publishes it: 3.309(d)(2)(ix). publichealth.va.gov renders it as "Multiple myeloma (cancer of plasma cells)."

Qualifying locations and dates

Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll

Dates: January 1, 1977 through December 31, 1980

Onsite participation in the response effort following the collision of a United States Air Force B-52 bomber and refueling plane that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Palomares, Spain

Dates: January 17, 1966 through March 31, 1967

Onsite participation in the response effort following the on-board fire and crash of a United States Air Force B-52 bomber that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Thule Air Force Base, Greenland

Dates: January 21, 1968 to September 25, 1968

Occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, by United States forces

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(B): "during the period beginning on August 6, 1945, and ending on July 1, 1946."

Internment as a prisoner of war in Japan (or service on active duty in Japan immediately following such internment) during World War II

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(vii): "at any time during the period August 6, 1945, through July 1, 1946"

Onsite participation in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device

Dates: Defined by the named test operations and their official operational periods at 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(v), listed individually below

Operation TRINITY

Dates: July 16, 1945 through August 6, 1945

Operation CROSSROADS

Dates: July 1, 1946 through August 31, 1946

Operation SANDSTONE

Dates: April 15, 1948 through May 20, 1948

Operation RANGER

Dates: January 27, 1951 through February 6, 1951

Operation GREENHOUSE

Dates: April 8, 1951 through June 20, 1951

Operation BUSTER-JANGLE

Dates: October 22, 1951 through December 20, 1951

Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER

Dates: April 1, 1952 through June 20, 1952

Operation IVY

Dates: November 1, 1952 through December 31, 1952

Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE

Dates: March 17, 1953 through June 20, 1953

Operation CASTLE

Dates: March 1, 1954 through May 31, 1954

Operation TEAPOT

Dates: February 18, 1955 through June 10, 1955

Operation WIGWAM

Dates: May 14, 1955 through May 15, 1955

Operation REDWING

Dates: May 5, 1956 through August 6, 1956

Operation PLUMBBOB

Dates: May 28, 1957 through October 22, 1957

Operation HARDTACK I

Dates: April 28, 1958 through October 31, 1958

Operation ARGUS

Dates: August 27, 1958 through September 10, 1958

Operation HARDTACK II

Dates: September 19, 1958 through October 31, 1958

Operation DOMINIC I

Dates: April 25, 1962 through December 31, 1962

Operation DOMINIC II/PLOWSHARE

Dates: July 6, 1962 through August 15, 1962

Service as a member of the garrison or maintenance forces on Eniwetok

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(iv)(C): "during the periods June 21, 1951, through July 1, 1952, August 7, 1956, through August 7, 1957, or November 1, 1958, through April 30, 1959."

Assignment to official military duties at Naval Shipyards involving the decontamination of ships that participated in Operation Crossroads

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(iv)(D) states no date limit for this activity

Amchitka Island, Alaska, in connection with the Long Shot, Milrow, or Cannikin underground nuclear tests

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(D)(2): "Service before January 1, 1974, on Amchitka Island, Alaska, if, during such service, the veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation in the performance of duty related to the Long Shot, Milrow, or Cannikin underground nuclear tests."

Gaseous diffusion plant located in Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio, or the area identified as K25 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(D)(1): service in which the service member was, as part of his or her official military duties, "present during a total of at least 250 days before February 1, 1992" on the grounds of one of those plants

Service in a capacity which, if performed as an employee of the Department of Energy, would qualify the individual for inclusion as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort

Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(E) states no date range; qualification is by reference to section 3621(14) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(14))

Nevada Test Site (Department of Energy Special Exposure Cohort criteria as summarized by VA)

Dates: publichealth.va.gov states: "at least 250 days from Jan. 1, 1963, through Dec. 31, 1992"

Everything listed under ionizing radiation exposure

Ionizing radiation exposure

How VA publishes it: 3.311(b)(2)(xv). Also appears on the 3.309(d) presumptive list.