I finished 7 weeks of proton therapy and Cisplatin chemo last September. I had my 3rd three month checkup last month and it was clear. I would definitely recommend you find a proton radiation therapy treatment. It’s finely targeted to the tumor to minimize collateral damage.
Nevertheless, I have some side effects but definitely not debilitating. I followed all the recommendations from the care team. I had an excellent Speech-Language Therapist who taught me a series of exercises to preserve the swallowing muscles function. There’s also a program called Eat All Through Radiation. You should ask your care team about these. They really worked for me.
You also may be told to gargle at least three time a day with baking soda and salt water. I read early on a comment that a patient had posted saying he made a batch every morning and put the container in the bathroom so he could use it more frequently. I followed that advice gargling 5-10 times a day.
Finally I didn’t use the Aquafor as it’s a petroleum based lotion and putting that on my neck and then undergoing radiation seemed crazy. So I used shea butter, coconut oil or aloe vera gel at least 5 times a day on my neck. Before this I had never really used lotions so it was new to me. Also a radiation tech told me early on to completely wash the lotion off with soap and water before treatment. Then wait two hours after treatment to allow residual heat to subside before reapplying lotion. I had very little external effects on my skin, so it seemed to have worked.
Hope this helps.