I had proton beam therapy 2X.. First time was 35 doses over 7 weeks. It was hard as I was also getting chemotherapy simultaneusly, cisplatin. As William siad the radiation stay with you up to a month following the completion of your treatments. I lost my saliva glands and was on a feeding tube for 15 months because my esophagus became constricted. It got the tumor that had embeded on the flap of my esophagus and other tumors around it.
One year later I had 5 doses over 2 weeks and it wasn't bad for clean up-no chemo. My cancer is now chronic so I am living with it. I had to have a tracheostomy one year later because of the damage inflicted by the radiation. I have learned to live with a gtrache and am still kicking happily. It's been a journey, but I'd do it again to get rid of the life threatening tumors I had. I never would have been able to cruise around South America this year and see my Panamanian AFS student this year if I had not gone through proton beam radiation. (picture below).
PS. The radiation oncologists at Mayo were amazing!