VA/PCa question

We are waiting and waiting and getting useless letters from the VA saying "We apologize for taking so long to make your determination...." blah blah blah.....ok here is the question. How long after you retired from Active service did it take for you to get your first disability check, specifically with the PCa issue. Michael was diagnosed and treated a month before he officially retired, and we are waiting to find out what type of percentage they are going to give him. I just read a thread someone (I apologize about forgetting who) is getting 40% due to the use of 4 pads per day. How does your disability work with percentages related to PCa? ED related, incontinence, remission.....

Any info would be helpful
Thanks
Susan

Oh by the way...he was enlisted Army 21 years

I actually agree with that, i think they wait and wait and hope that you will give up. I am sure that is why they deny or give a smaller % to begin with thinking that people will give up. Unfortunately, they have met up with the wrong group of people for that, I have found that most (not all) the cancer survivors I know are fighters and don't give up. We will continue to wait, nothing else to do, but it really does stink.

We were told that had we gone with active surveillance they would have given 100%, have you heard that? And what is the average %age they give when one has gone with removal of the prostate?

Susan, is his PCa Agent Orange related? I know they have a huge backlog of claims due to the new IHD and other heart related AO claims. Like Sonny, mine went thru pretty quickly, but that was 2 years ago. Hang in there.

Michael

Susan, is his PCa Agent Orange related?

i think he's a little too young for that !

ed

 

Hi Susan,

How long it takes varies depending on which regional office you are involved with. It's incredible how some are right on and others have no clue. I submitted my claim myself and was approved and had my first deposit 15 days after I mailed it. It was 100% and has remained that way for 21 months. I had surgery 4 days before the first check. After 21 months I had a C&P exam. Unless your PSA is up (mine's >.01) you get reduced compensation. Since I use more than 4 pads per day and urinate more than once an hour, I have been told I will get 60%. I also get special compensation for ED, which is $96 per month. The bad news is that 60% compensation is not really 60%. 100% is about $3000 per month, 60% will be less than $1100 per month. We need better math education in our school systems! The good news is that once approved, you will get your 100% retroactive to when you first applied, so even though it is taking months, if approved, that first deposit will be quite nice. Good luck and stay positive.

Gus

gus, you are spot on. makes a huge difference on your regional office. i will tell you first hand, it was terrible here in SC. wished i had recorded some of the phone calls i had with my regional. they were down right rude and ignorant at times. they would be holding the same document as me in their hands, and still extracting the wrong information on it. it took me over a year before they finally released my application and allowed it to go to Washington. They even called me, acted nice at first, and tried to convince me not to appeal to Washington. When I politely insisted, the woman on the phone all but cussed me out, and assured me, that my case would never be resolved in Washington. Nice thank you for a veteren.

david

David, like so many other government bureaucracies, the system is full of flaws. No doubt your office in SC is deluged with applications, has high turnover because of stress, and every time the phone rings, they cringe. My regional office, located in a small town in Vermont, is the smallest RO in the system. They are efficient, relatively pleasant, and probably not all that busy based on how quickly they respond. As to percentages I think the whole thing is screwed up. Note to Susan: If your husband gets 50% disability for one thing and 40% for another he's not getting 90%. That would make too much sense. He will be getting 70% because the 40% is only 40% of the remaining 50% which is 20%! If you have had any alcohol prior to reading this, you will not know what I just said! And as I said earlier, if 100% is $3000 why is 60% $1070? OK, done ranting. Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Oh Susanna! I also think Vermont is a beautiful place and did visit shortly after floods a couple of years ago. But if you think the Vermont Regional Office was assigned to me because I live there, well that would be giving the government waaayyy to much credit. I live 3 hours from the Seattle RO and got my PC diagnosis at the Seattle VAMC, a few miles from the regional office. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to send my file to White River Junction, Vermont, only 3110 miles away from me, my doctor, and all my records! However, since they do in days and weeks what other RO's do in months and years, I feel lucky and grateful.

Some months ago I was looking up the agent orange site for a new poster. There were also some qualifications for service in Korea that have different date ranges. Don't have any detail at hand, but it is not limited to Viet Nam.

I applied for VA disability for agent orange and PCa. It took a little over a year for the the C&P exam. about a month later  I was awarded 40% for residuals (2 to 4 pads a day).  I also get the $96 a month for loss of a creative organ.  I am having an artifical urinary sphincter sometime in february which is considered a voiding device by the VA and will get you another 20%. They also pay 20% if you have ED along with a penile deformity(peyronies).  I filed with the Albuquerque NM. district office.  I wrote letters to my congressmen also which could have speeded up the process.  Hope that helps.