Getting a VA Disability Rating for Multiple Myeloma

Veterans are at a higher risk for multiple myeloma, a type of cancer affecting the bone marrow. Veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service are especially at risk, including those exposed to Agent Orange, ionizing radiation, contaminated water, and burn pits.

Read on to learn more about the connection between multiple myeloma and military service and the VA disability rating for multiple myeloma. 

What is multiple myeloma?

Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.

Blood is made up of different types of cells, including white blood cells, which help protect the body from infection. Plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, normally make antibodies to fight off germs. In people with multiple myeloma, plasma cells stop working correctly. They grow too much, stop creating antibodies, and take over the bone marrow, leaving less room for healthy blood cells.

Veterans with multiple myeloma might feel very tired, have pain in their bones, and get sick more often because their bodies struggle to fight germs.

VA disability rating for multiple myeloma

Veterans with service-connected multiple myeloma receive a 100% rating under VA diagnostic code 7712 as long as they are exhibiting symptoms. Asymptomatic multiple myeloma is given a 0% rating. This differs from the way the VA rates most cancers.

Symptomatic veterans will keep their 100% rating for five years. After those five years, you must undergo a new disability evaluation to determine if the rating should continue. If your multiple myeloma is no longer symptomatic but you are experiencing related residuals, you may be awarded a new VA rating under a different diagnostic code.

Multiple myeloma and military service

Veterans who were exposed to certain toxins during their military service have a higher chance of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. 

Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or ionizing radiation can receive presumptive service connection for multiple myeloma, as can any vet who served at Camp Lejeune or New River, North Carolina. The VA also considers multiple myeloma as presumptively service connected to burn pit exposure. 

Multiple myeloma Agent Orange

The military began to use the chemical Agent Orange as a defoliant in the 1960s. The herbicide included a cancer-causing chemical called dioxin. Millions of veterans may have been exposed to Agent Orange as it was widely used both overseas during the Vietnam War and stored on U.S. soil, ships, and planes. 

Research has shown that Agent Orange is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple myeloma. As such, multiple myeloma is presumptively service-connected for qualifying Vietnam-era vets.

Multiple myeloma and radiation

Veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation while in the military are sometimes referred to as nuclear or atomic veterans. Many of these veterans were not exposed until years or decades later as part of clean up efforts. 

Radiation exposure is widely known to cause serious health problems including cancer, and research has found atomic veterans are at increased risk for multiple myeloma. Therefore, the VA established veterans exposed to radiation do not need to prove their multiple myeloma was caused by their military service.

Multiple myeloma and Camp Lejeune

The water system at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a dry-cleaning facility, industrial spills, waste disposal sites, and leaking underground storage tanks.

Studies on the effects of the VOCs in Camp Lejeune’s water found exposure to the chemicals can cause several cancers, including multiple myeloma. The VA has established qualifying Camp Lejeune vets do not need to prove multiple myeloma was caused by their military service.

Multiple myeloma and burn pits

As their name implies, burn pits are areas of open ground that the U.S. military would use to dispose of waste by burning it. As these materials burned, they released toxins that put service members’ health in danger.

There is a list of more than two dozen presumptive conditions for veterans who were exposed to burn pits, including multiple myeloma. 

“If you were exposed to burn pits in one of the areas listed by the VA and you have one of these presumptive conditions, you should essentially be granted automatic service connection on your application,” said VA disability lawyer Lori Underwood.

Multiple myeloma and related conditions

Veterans with multiple myeloma may develop additional, related health issues that can be service-connected as secondary conditions.

Some of these include:

• Bone issues. Due to multiple myeloma’s location in the bone marrow, this cancer can cause problems like thinning bones or osteoporosis, and make breaks and fractures more likely.
• Kidney disease. Multiple myeloma can cause a specific type of protein buildup, leading to an increased risk for kidney issues and kidney failure.
• Anemia. Because cancerous plasma cells crowd out healthy cells, multiple myeloma can result in anemia. 
• Deep vein thrombosis. Some of the common drugs used to treat multiple myeloma, particularly those treated with oral immunomodulatory drugs, increase the risk of developing venous thrombosis.
  

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TDIU for multiple myeloma

In some cases, a veteran may be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for their multiple myeloma. TDIU is also known as individual unemployability or simply IU. Veterans are eligible for these benefits if they can’t hold down “substantially gainful” employment due to their service-connected conditions.

Veterans who receive TDIU benefits are compensated at the same level as those with a 100% disability rating, even though their combined rating is below 100%.

Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:

• At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
• Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more

How Woods & Woods can help

Woods & Woods has been fighting for people with injuries and disabilities since 1985. Our team of accredited VA disability lawyers, case managers, legal analysts, and intake specialists know the ins and outs of the VA so you don’t have to do all the hard work. Call us today for your free and confidential case evaluation.

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