Terry, Welcome to the site. Like all of us, we're sorry you had to find us, but we hope we can be of some help.

I recommend the feeding tube, also known as a peg, to everyone going through this. It is a life saver in my opinion and should be installed before treatment as a matter of course. Some here on the site have made it through without, but I think it had to be more difficult. I lost 50 pounds with the tube, 25% of my body weight. I can only imagine how much I'd have lost if I hadn't had the tube due to not being able to swallow from the radiation. My opinion is get the peg.

I've wondered about weakened immune systems also as I heard that sleep deprivation is also suspect for allowing cancer to get started. I know a lot of folks in America are below normal sleeping patterns, so I wondered if that could be a contributing factor. Perhaps some of the more medically competent posters on this site can answer your question.

Your local hospital, is it a cancer center or just a department within the hospital? If not a bonefide cancer center, you should consider looking elsewhere. The expertise at full cancer centers have saved some lives on this site, and seven weeks is a small investment to make to be sure you are getting the best possible treatment with the most advanced techniques and equipment. Your decision, but you might want to reconsider if your local hospital is not a cancer center.
Hopefully, your lymph nodes are clear and you won't have as big a problem. Meanwhile, you will be in my prayers to get on top of this thing.