Question:

Good afternoon,...I recently retired from the military and 1 year ago prior to retirement, having served 29yrs Active Duty, I was informed I have one kidney, left atrophic kidney and was also discovered I have a mass in my bladder. Should I expect some sort of compensation or would this be considered “pre-existing”?

Jim's Reply:

If I were you, I'd proceed to file disability claims with the VA. That the medical conditions were all discovered while you were still active duty makes everything service connected. The VA will have to determine how disabling each condition is according to their standards and you'll be assigned a rating of from 0% disabling to 100% disabling. If a mass in your bladder that was discovered while you were active is a cancer, you'll be rated at 100% disabled for the time you're having treatment. Filing now will be worth the effort for you.