Question:
Jim,
My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer 2 years ago, had surgery, and is going in every 3 months for follow up exams. The cancer appears to be in remission but he does have some incontinence resulting from the surgery. He was just notified that his disability rating will be reduced from 100% to 20% in 2 months. Is this standard practice or should he appeal the reduction since he is suffering from side effects that may be permanent?
Jim's Reply:
Veterans who are eligible for agent orange presumptive benefits for prostate cancer are rated 100% as a temporary benefit while the cancer is active. The VA assumes everyone will get treatment and every prostate cancer will be cured. Once the treatment is complete, the veteran can no longer be rated for a cancer...the cancer is gone or in remission or cured. The 100% rating will last for a few months after treatment during a recuperative period and the veteran is then rated on the severity of the lasting conditions related to the treatment. These are usually incontinence to varying degrees and erectile dysfunction or ED. ED is rated as a different sort of benefit and is called SMC-k and that pays just over $100.00 per month over and above any other disability ratings. The post-prostate cancer treatment rating is based mostly on the severity of incontinence and how many adult absorbent pads the veteran uses each day. As a rule, 20% is very low and he may want to appeal that with better evidence of just how his incontinence affects him. The usual rating will be 40% or 60%, again..based largely on the use of absorbent pads. He can't appeal that there will be a reduction in the rating but he can appeal how much the reduction is and he can file for the ED if that's the case.