Soldiers who trained at a Canadian base blame their lasting health problems on exposure to herbicides.
Veterans seeking disability benefits face the daunting challenge of proving their lung or prostate cancer, diabetes or other ailments regularly found in the general population are definitively linked to time spent at Gagetown decades ago. Often, a definitive link is elusive.
Furrow filed a claim with the VA and, last August, received a response. The VA said it may consider his claim — but first the department needs additional scientific or medical evidence showing a link between his “squamous cell carcinoma” and exposure to dioxins in herbicides. Furrow said last week he never bothered to appeal because he “just knew it was going to be declined.”
“You get tired of trying to fight it,” he said.
