{"id":81406,"date":"2025-01-08T17:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/01\/08\/va-eases-benefits-rules-for-cancers-from-post-911-service-k2-tours\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:40:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:40:52","slug":"va-eases-benefits-rules-for-cancers-from-post-911-service-k2-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2025\/01\/08\/va-eases-benefits-rules-for-cancers-from-post-911-service-k2-tours\/","title":{"rendered":"VA eases benefits rules for cancers from Post-9\/11 service, K2 tours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans who served in the first Gulf War or Post-9\/11 conflicts suffering from leukemia, bladder cancer and other related illnesses will be granted presumptive benefits status under plans announced by<a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/press-room\/va-makes-several-cancers-presumptive-for-service-connection-lowering-the-burden-of-proof-for-veterans-to-receive-no-cost-health-care-and-earned-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Veterans Affairs leaders<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That includes troops formerly stationed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2024\/08\/14\/va-to-expand-benefits-access-for-us-vets-of-k2-uzbekistan-base\/\" target=\"_blank\">Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan<\/a>, a group that has long lobbied for better recognition of the damaging long-term health effects connected to that site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision is the latest in a series of moves by department officials to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2024\/06\/14\/va-to-add-male-breast-cancer-two-other-conditions-to-presumptive-list\/\" target=\"_blank\">ease the burden associated with applying for veterans disability benefits<\/a> for former troops exposed to toxic chemicals during their time in service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAdding these presumptives lowers the burden of proof for veterans to get the benefits they deserve for the conditions that followed them home from war,\u201d VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. \u201cWe encourage veterans with these conditions \u2014 and all veterans \u2014 to apply today for the benefits they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/08\/14\/va-to-expand-benefits-access-for-us-vets-of-k2-uzbekistan-base\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/472251.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA to expand benefits access for US vets of K2 Uzbekistan base<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Roughly three-quarters of the 16,000 known U.S. veterans who served at K2 in Uzbekistan are already receiving some disability benefits, the VA said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typically, veterans applying for disability benefits must prove that their injuries were directly connected to time in the military. That can be difficult for indirect injuries caused by exposure to toxic chemicals at military bases from hazards like burn pits or groundwater contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Presumptive status allows veterans applying for benefits to skip paperwork establishing their condition as a result of military service. That can cut months of wait times off the benefits process, as well as reduce the frustration of families waiting for answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, when veterans are established as having a service-connected health condition \u2014 either through the claims process or by the presumptive process \u2014 they become eligible for free VA health care for that condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new announcement covers acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis, urinary bladder, ureter and related genitourinary cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans who served in the Middle East during the first Gulf War or in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen or Uzbekistan after Sept, 11, 2001, will be granted presumptive disability status for those conditions, starting next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That includes the so-called K2 veterans. The Uzbekistan base was used by U.S. troops as a point into and out of Afghanistan during the early 2000s. Individuals who served there were exposed to numerous contaminants, including jet fuel in groundwater and lead-based paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 13,000 of the 16,000 troops known to have served there are already enrolled in VA health care. At least 11,800 have already been rated as disabled for at least one service-related condition, with many topping more than a dozen related health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision on the new presumptives is connected to the 2022 PACT Act, which dramatically expanded benefits for troops with toxic exposure injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since it was signed into law, nearly 900,000 veterans have enrolled in department health care, an increase of about 40% from the comparable period before the bill was adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More information on how to apply for benefits is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/press-room\/va-makes-several-cancers-presumptive-for-service-connection-lowering-the-burden-of-proof-for-veterans-to-receive-no-cost-health-care-and-earned-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\">the VA website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gulf War veterans and Post-9\/11 vets suffereing from leukemia and bladder cancer will get presumptive benefits status under a new decision by VA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,7,23,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-81406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"Z6ODII7EMJCUJEGSC4PPSXZF24","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2025\/01\/08\/va-eases-benefits-rules-for-cancers-from-post-911-service-k2-tours\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA eases benefits rules for cancers from Post-9\/11 service, K2 tours - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gulf War veterans and Post-9\/11 vets suffereing from leukemia and bladder cancer will get presumptive benefits status under a new decision by VA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA eases benefits rules for cancers from Post-9\/11 service, K2 tours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gulf War veterans and Post-9\/11 vets suffereing from leukemia and bladder cancer will get presumptive benefits status under a new decision by VA.\" 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