What do I put as the claim date/effective date for secondary conditions?

Question

 

I have secondary conditions caused by my prostate cancer and diabetic.  Is the date for secondary conditions the actual date that VA approved the disability or another date?  If some of these conditions were before the correct date whose to say that I didn't have cancer or diabetis way before the correct date?

 

 

Jim's Reply

 

Secondary conditions are claimed just as any other condition. That means that the claim date is the effective date...that's the law as established by Congress. If you claim PAD as secondary to your service connected diabetes the effective date of the PAD award will be the date you filed that claim. VA doesn't rate you by when a disease began, you're rated according to when the claim is filed. Prostate cancer secondary conditions are generally thought of as the residual effects of treatment and are already spelled out for rating. Those will come up when there is a future C & P exam.