In 1991, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act, directing the Veteran’s Administration (VA) to presume that specific disease , including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, could be tied to chemical exposure related to a soldier’s service in Vietnam. Learn more about what to do if your VA benefits have been denied.

The primary goal of VAWatchdog is to educate veterans. It's our philosophy that a veteran should understand the reality of what he or she faces when dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other, similar agencies.

If you served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, you may have had contact with contaminants in the drinking water there. Scientific and medical evidence has shown an association between exposure to these contaminants during military service and development of certain diseases later on. If you have qualifying service at Camp Lejeune and a current diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, you may be able to get disability benefits.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of military Servicemembers who died in the line of duty or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease. If a veteran's cause of death is service-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cutaneous lymphoma), it must be listed on the death certificate for the spouse to receive benefits.

Eligible veterans and their dependents may receive cancer treatment at a Veterans Administration Medical Center. For more information, visit their website or call 877.222.8387.

Medicaid is a program supported by both federal and state funds in the U.S. and it is administered on the state level, meaning that eligibility guidelines and benefits available may differ considerably between states. Medicaid is intended to help individuals and families pay their medical expenses and eligibility is primarily based on income although certain factors such as age or disability may be considered. For more information including contact information for your local Medicaid office, visit their website.

Medicare is a program supported by the U.S. federal government that provides health insurance for people over 65 years of age or people under 65 years of age with certain disabilities.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a US national program that offers one-on-one counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and their families. Through federal grants directed to states, SHIP provides free counseling and assistance via telephone and face-to-face interactive sessions, public education presentations and programs, and media activities.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH), through its National Library of Medicine (NLM), has developed this site in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Clinicaltrials.gov offers up-to-date information for locating federally and privately supported clinical trials for a wide range of diseases and conditions. ClinicalTrials.gov contains tens of thousands of clinical studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, other federal agencies, and private industry. Studies listed in the database are conducted throughout the United States and in over 130 countries, and searches may be conducted by diagnosis, by sponsor or by recruitment status. ClinicalTrials.gov provides information about a trial’s purpose, who may participate, locations, and contact information to learn more details. In addition to providing listings, the website offers detailed information to help the reader understand how clinical trials are structured and governed.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of 11 agencies that compose the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NCI, established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, is the U.S. federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. The National Cancer Institute coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is the U.S. federal government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.

The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the United States’ medical research agency—making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. The NIH is the largest source of funding for medical research in the world and is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the U.S. federal government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.