Question:
I'm currently rated 60% secondary to prostate cancer. If I file a claim for depression as a secondary is my current rating at risk of being lowered?
Jim's Reply:
Any time we ask VA to increase a given benefit, it stands to reason that our entire record is opened and reviewed. In other words, yes...you place your current benefits at risk if you seek to increase a current assigned rating or to add a new rating.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't file a new claim, it means that you should go into this prepared with eyes wide open.
Depression during and after prostate cancer treatment isn't at all unusual and many vets file for that as a secondary condition following prostatectomy or direct beam radiation therapy because let's face it, prostate cancer treatment is brutal.
When you file you should have taken the time to buff and polish your health care records. If you aren't being actively treated for depression, you should be. You need a record of mental health therapy to prove your eligibility for a mental health benefit.
So, look at your medical records. Have you been in mental health care for a year or more? Do your records clearly reflect that you are being treated by a mental health professional for depression?
At the time that you can look at your records and treatment history and you feel like you're ready, file the claim.
Good luck sir.