MDS is in a class of blood disorders that could be found to be service connected, but it isn't automatically presumptive unless there is exposure to Agent Orange. Benzene exposure is common in motor pools (I was in the 165th transportation in Louisiana, and I lived on Fort Polk. I was also at Ft Ord, BAMC, (my second stint was x-ray), so I got a lot of happy molecules. It's amazing I don't glow in the dark (kidding).
Anyway, my whites are also dropping, so I have an onco appointment in a few weeks. Hopefully mine is not a case of MDS, but all of my numbers are dropping over time. Enough about me.
What I found out is that when there is an adjudication at the VBA, they usually need a letter from a doctor (or two, depending on the type of case), that can state that it is more likely than not that the exposure to benzene caused the MDS (or CLL), or AML--or any other related disorder.
The appeals process can drag on for quite a while, unfortunately, and you have to be your best advocate. If you have all of the facts, you can go to the VBA's website and put in a complete claim. There is a checklist that you should follow, and when you have all of your docs scanned in, you can send them. This is called a Fully Developed Claim (FDC). Visit VBA.VA.gov, to learn more about this feature.
http://www.benefits.va.gov/transform...sformation.asp. I hope this helps. I was a work-study student drawing Chapter 35 after my husband died.
And I may become a patient--I hope not, but I think it's in the cards for me, too.
I hope this helps.