Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize gioblastoma brain cancers in Vietnam Veterans as an Agent Orange-related illness.
The Senate Minority Leader is taking up the case of Rochester’s Tom Cray, who was exposed to the toxic defoliant during two combat tours in Vietnam and is now fighting the cancer. Schumer met with local veterans, Cray’s daughter and officials of the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester. He’s calling on the VA to immediately review Tom Cray’s case and establish a presumption that vets who served in Vietnam and now have the malignant brain tumor are victims of Agent Orange exposure and have a service-connected illness.
Schumer says Cray isn’t getting service-related compensation for this cancer because it’s not so recognized.