Melanoma
Malignant skin cancer — presumptive under the PACT Act.
Melanoma is on the PACT Act presumptive list, reflecting the reality that toxic exposure and intense sun exposure during service both raise the risk of serious skin cancer. For veterans who spent months and years outdoors in desert environments, it is a real and rising threat.
The VA rates active melanoma as a total disability and continues to rate the scars, disfigurement and any spread afterward. Here is what it is, why it is presumptive, and what the ratings look like.
Understanding Melanoma
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer, developing in the pigment-producing cells of the skin. It can appear as a new or changing mole and, unlike less serious skin cancers, it can spread to lymph nodes and internal organs if not caught early.
The exposure link the VA now accepts for you
The PACT Act includes melanoma as presumptive for qualifying burn-pit and airborne-hazard exposure. Combined with the intense, unprotected sun exposure of desert deployments, the toxic-exposure link means the VA connects melanoma to service without a separate causation fight.
Because this is a presumptive condition, you do not have to prove the science of how your service caused it. If you have a qualifying diagnosis and served in a covered location during a covered period, the VA presumes the connection — your job is to file, attend the exam, and make sure the rating reflects how badly it truly affects you.
Why this hits women differently
Women veterans served in the same sun and the same contaminated environments. Because skin changes are easy to dismiss, the presumption is important — it ensures that once melanoma is diagnosed, the connection to service is recognized.
While an active cancer is being treated, the VA assigns a total 100% rating — and it holds that 100% for about six months after your last treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or targeted therapy) ends. After that window the VA re-examines you and re-rates on whatever is left behind: the residuals. That means the scars, the removed or damaged organ, the fatigue, the neuropathy, the breathing loss, the hormonal and mental-health fallout each get their own rating and stack together. A cancer that looks "cured" on paper can still support a substantial combined rating for the rest of your life.
What the VA Pays for Melanoma
Melanoma is rated under 38 CFR 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7833 (malignant melanoma). Here is exactly what each level requires, in plain English — not a table you have to decode.
Active melanoma is rated 100% while it is being treated and for six months after treatment ends (Diagnostic Code 7833).
After that window the VA rates residuals — scars are rated on their size and location, and disfigurement of the head, face or neck is rated on its own scale.
If melanoma spread to lymph nodes or organs, those are rated as well; surgical scars, disfigurement and mental-health impact are each rated separately and combined.
Source: 38 CFR 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7833 (malignant melanoma). Every percentage here is a starting point set by federal regulation, not a promise — your actual rating depends on your records and exam. An accredited representative can confirm exactly what fits your case.
One rating is rarely the whole picture
This condition does not stand alone. The VA combines it with every other service-connected condition you carry using its combined-ratings math — so a presumptive claim can push your overall rating higher than this one number suggests. And if your toxic-exposure conditions together make it impossible to hold steady, gainful work, you may qualify for TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability) and be paid at the 100% rate even if no single condition reaches 100%. This is one of the most overlooked ways women veterans are underpaid.
Getting this rated at its true severity
Keep your dermatology and pathology records, photographs of scars and any staging information together. Make sure disfigurement and any spread are documented, since they drive the residual rating. An accredited representative can confirm the presumption and that every residual is captured.
Do you qualify for Melanoma?
Under the PACT Act, a presumptive claim comes together when two things are true at once: you have a diagnosis of melanoma, and your service falls inside one of the covered toxic-exposure windows below. When both are met, the VA presumes your condition is service-connected — you do not have to prove how the exposure caused it.
Post-9/11 service
Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan or Yemen — or the airspace above them — on or after September 11, 2001.
Gulf War-era service
Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia or the United Arab Emirates — or the airspace above them — on or after August 2, 1990.
Agent Orange & other exposures
Vietnam, Thailand, the Korean DMZ, Camp Lejeune and other recognized sites each carry their own presumptive rules and dates on top of the burn-pit windows.
Not sure whether your dates and locations line up? That is one of the most common reasons a valid claim gets denied — and one of the easiest to fix with the right records. An accredited representative can confirm your covered service before you file.
Filing a claim for Melanoma, step by step
You can file a PACT Act claim on your own — but knowing the order of operations keeps it from stalling. Here is what the process looks like from start to decision.
Confirm the diagnosis
Make sure the condition is documented in your medical records — from the VA or a private doctor. A clear, current diagnosis is the first half of a presumptive claim.
Establish your covered service
Pull your DD-214, deployment orders and duty history to show you served in a covered location during a covered period. This is the second half — and once both are met, the VA presumes the link.
File the claim
File for disability compensation and specify the condition and your toxic exposure. You can file it yourself, but an accredited representative can file it correctly the first time and make sure nothing is left off.
Attend the C&P exam
The VA will schedule a Compensation & Pension exam. Describe your symptoms on your worst days, not your best — the rating is set from what the examiner records.
You do not have to do this alone
A free, no-obligation record review will tell you whether melanoma fits the presumptive rules for your service — and exactly what to file. Scroll down to request yours.
The PACT Act & Toxic Exposure, Explained
A couple of clear, trustworthy explainers on the PACT Act and toxic-exposure benefits from official sources. Watch whenever you are ready.
The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits
The Department of Veterans Affairs explains what the PACT Act changed — expanded health care, new presumptive conditions, and who qualifies after toxic exposure.
Ask About the Toxic Exposure Screening
The Veterans Health Administration walks through the free 5–10 minute toxic exposure screening every enrolled veteran can get — and why it starts your exposure record.
These videos are shared for general education from official and third-party sources. They are not legal advice, and watching them is never required to get help with your claim.
See every presumptive condition, or read how the PACT Act works.
Think this fits your record?
We focus on veterans the VA has already denied or under-rated. We do not take brand-new (initial) claims, and we do not take every case.
Guidance from a VA-accredited claims agent (#45147). Any figures are estimates that depend on your situation and the VA's decision — not legal or medical advice, and not the VA.